Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Modern Manners Guy, QDnow, and Quick and Dirty Tips are trademarks of Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Learn the best 3 ways to handle an awkward situation that is heading south fast! Teax2 manners Longtime listener here, thanks for 'casting. Somehow while listening to this I imagined some of the commentary to be racist, sexist, or homophobic language people around you were slinging--that can be very awkward, after all. I don't think faking a phone call in these situations is okay. If your group of friends or coworkers are making racist jokes or putting down a certain group, I think speaking up with something like "That's not funny" or "stop that, now. It's disgusting listening to you say that" is more appropriate. Also, when terms of sexual assault are used to describe performing well in pro sports or gaming--this DOES happen, and I've always spoken out disgustedly about it--there is no way you should just leave without saying something, no matter who you are. We white people often get offended when someone calls us out on our sexist or racist remarks and often state "it's not about race/sexual orientation/etc." or "don't be sensitive". I have advice--BE sensitive and MAKE it about race/sexual orientation. Because you can have fun without so lightly putting down ethnic groups. People who think these issues aren't important are very ignorant of the privilege they have over other people and how much it changes their lives, and have not even thought about feeling empathy for that group. Yeah, this involves taking responsibility for those around you, but there are some situations in which you need to do that. http://manners.quickanddirtytips.com/how-to-properly-handle-awkward-situations.aspx?commentid=51284#Comments http://manners.quickanddirtytips.com/how-to-properly-handle-awkward-situations.aspx?commentid=51284#Comments Wed, 06 Jun 2012 02:15:50 GMT Wed, 06 Jun 2012 02:15:50 GMT http://manners.quickanddirtytips.com/how-to-properly-handle-awkward-situations.aspx feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Managing Editor) feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Webmaster) en-us