Racist Decline

[obstacleremoved]

I was just declined and refunded a gig because I am a Christian. Has this happened to anyone else from ANY faith, race, etc. on Fiverr??

[esthernyambura]

How has the seller known that you are a Christian? Did you told him? Well, it has never happened to me.

[obstacleremoved]

Part of my logo design is my web address. This is what he said:
“Sorry, i visited your website,you work for the propagation of christianism. But i don’t.I work for true religion propagation of islam. kind regards”

Sad that Fiverr has become segregated.

[misscrystal]

Be glad he left you alone! Unfortunately there are haters out there.

[fonthaunt]

I wouldn’t say Fiverr has become segregated at all. The Fiverr company has offices in Israel and various U.S. cities and I’m sure the staff come from all walks of life. I work with people of many faiths when I buy or sell. I think that like any other group of humans, some sellers are intolerant.

I do think it should be a seller’s right to not work with something that makes them uncomfortable whether it is adult services, a particular religious group of any kind, a political view, or whatever. However, I think that should be stated up front in the gig description and stated professionally.

What that seller said to you about “true religion” isn’t a professional way to do or not do business. I’m sorry it happened to you. I’m glad he didn’t get your money and I hope you can work with someone who deserves it.

[writer99025]

I think the seller has to be reported and banned - you cannot deny service to people because of their nationality, religion, race, s****l orientation or gender.

[jamesbulls]

I’m a Satanist, and this is prominently displayed on my YouTube channel that’s linked from my seller profile. I’m also the 3rd ranked seller in my parent category as well as the 2nd ranked seller in my sub-category. If there’s discrimination based on race or religion happening on Fiverr, then all I can say is that it must be working in my favor.

[fonthaunt]

@writer99025 I’m pretty sure this is legally true in the USA although it may not be worded that way in every state. Private businesses can legally deny services based on s****l orientation and gender in some cases and in some states. There are types of public services that are not subject to this as well, like fitness services specific to gender. Is the law worded that way in India?

I’m guessing it isn’t that way globally. Being unprofessional and abusive is against ToS though, so I’m with you, I just am not sure if Fiverr sellers are bound to the “service denial” discrimination law. I think the buyer here was absolutely mistreated and the seller should have a penalty for being unprofessional, but the controversial point is an interesting discussion.

[writer99025]

Yeah, anyone who denies service to anyone i India because of their religion, sex or caste or other factors, can go to jail. The laws are stricter here to curb the historical discrimination against minorities or disadvantaged sections. But I don’t think there’s a law against denying service to people because of their s****l orientation - gay rights are not big in India yet, but hopefully that will change.

[writer99025]

Thinking again, I don’t think Fiverr should get into it…it might start a religious flame war that nobody wants. We just want to do our work and be left alone, and not be a part of any global politics.

[eoinfinnegan]

This reminds me of the ridiculous case in Northern Ireland where a prominent Christian baker was brought to court for refusing to bake a cake for a gay celebration of some kind. After the court battle, the baker received a huge fine. If someone refuses you service for something just go somewhere else and don’t get offended or believe “I have the right to x,y,z…”.
There are more than enough companies, services and sellers to get what you want done without having to deal with idiots/those who can’t differentiate between their business and their personal beliefs.
Someone with different beliefs to you doesn’t want to help you achieve your aims, to me that’s fair enough regardless of the law.

[fonthaunt]

I like that Fiverr typically will intervene with rude sellers/buyers and anything that is globally illegal or extremely unethical.

When it comes to gigs, though, I’ve seen them step in about 90% of the time (not bad) but not always. I’ve seen gigs offering hacking services and one gig offer medical diagnosis/treatment that weren’t taken down. Given the numbers, they try, though.

[cyaxrex]

I must say, I’m on the fence with this one. That might sound horrendous but I personally wouldn’t feel comfortable doing work for an er… a Satanist project (sorry James) or actually any kind of project in which the work produced would be designed to promote a certain religious or cultural belief system.

Also, to clarify, I do regularly work with people like an Israeli jewelry design firm in which I have to describe how designs themselves reflect Jewish identity and beliefs. The difference here, is that this work doesn’t say “hey come join Judaism,” it says, “hey look at the phenomenal jewelry we have and by the way, here’s some information about the inspiration behind each piece.”

On the other hand, I as an alternative health practitioner routinely decline work geared at promoting drug companies, pharmaceuticals, and medical testing. Likewise, I never do work for the adult, gambling or charity industry.

What I never do, though, is say, “sorry I can’t work with you because your project publically promotes a certain belief which is against my values.” Instead, I’d just say, “sorry I can’t help you with this,” like I do to tens of people every week for different reasons.

In this case, I think the seller which the OP has communicated with should be brought to account for sending what is a very inappropriate and offensive message. However, sellers of any service should have the right to decline services to anyone they like. They should simply do so in a courteous, non-prejudiced way which makes no reference at all to any ideological reasons behind the decline of service.

[obstacleremoved]

Thanks for all the input guys. I was just curious if this has happened to anyone else. I am not asking Fiverr to get involved. The gig was refunded and I have others working on my needs. I don’t sell on Fiverr I only buy and I will buy a lot more. It makes no difference to me who gets the work as long as it is completed the way it was ordered. Thanks again!

[fonthaunt]

The thing is, it turns into a very hotbutton issue when you put it in the way it was posted here. I’m not saying this as a negative comment to you, just making a factual statement. “racist decline” is a phrase that is natural clickbait, people want to see what the post is about. In actuality, religion and race aren’t the same even though for some cultures they are heavily intertwined. Even so, being intolerant of a certain religion is entirely different from being a racist.

The other aspect is that for sellers, it can get personal when seeing an example of a seller that makes others look bad. Most of us truly want Fiverr to be a great place for buyers. We also should have the right to decline to work with someone who isn’t a good match or who has requests that make us uncomfortable, but we don’t have the right to be unprofessional. Once the door is opened to a discussion like this, it doesn’t close down easily. Intolerance is everywhere in all forms, so of course it’s on Fiverr too, as unfortunate as that may be.

[emmaki]

A lot of handwringing here. If someone is being an ass, tell then where to go. The last thing the world need right now is a zealot.

[writer99025]

LOL…thank you for being back, this place was getting boring without your wisdom…I was trying hard to keep the forum interesting, but failing miserably 🙂

[pr_junction]

Hard to believe this !

Or it happened because the buyer wanted to cancel the order and needed a reason for it.

[emmaki]

It’s pretty simple, just say something controversial and do it with panache 😉

Personally, I dislike anyone who is too overtly sky-fairy believer. Sure, believe in your God(s) or whatever, but keep it tucked away in private. Personally, just about every client I’ve had who has been a BELIEVER in any religion has been a bit of a ■■■■. One had a book about the miracle of God’s creation (etc) and the most memorable line for me–it was a kid’s book with bad illustrations, I’ll stick with the graven images commandment here in the interests of censuriousness–that basically said “we are better than animals because we have two eyes”. (I paraphrase, but that was the takeaway). Those poor children… a 4 star “good experience!” review with no communication. That is a perfectly normal religious customer experience for me, and that’s across the whole spectrum. See also: people in the US who leave fake God money as tips. Because God pays the bills!

Let the stupidity sink in. I’m against idiots, and I don’t care who their God is.

[misscrystal]

Re: God pays the bills. Said by a devout believer to me: I don’t have to work because God takes care of the bills (and his agent is my wife who works two jobs) God provided for all his needs so he could stay home all day watching TV.

[emmaki]

The Lord works in mysterious ways, and we are but his ignorant children 🙂

I was thinking more of this story. Features delicious backpeddling:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/sites/default/files/tsg_favicon.pngThe Smoking Gun

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/sites/default/files/photos/receiptfrontimage.jpg

Pastor Apologizes For Snide Remark On Meal Receipt

JANUARY 31--The St. Louis pastor responsible for the credit card receipt heard ‘round the Internet termed her snide scribblings a “lapse in my character and judgment,” adding that the Applebee’s empl

Incidentally, I’m tickled by the fact God only gets 10%, nobody else seems to have picked up on the inherent humor there. What about the 90% of her godlessness? lulz.

[cyaxrex]

The Lord certainly does work in mysterious ways. I got stalked by Mormons in 2005 for almost a full year. They even turned up at my door after I moved to a new city and wasn’t even on the electoral role. (We’re talking about the exact two missionaries). I have no idea how they could have kept on finding me without some form of supernatural ability. Also, when I actually got rid of them finally my house burned down (weird year 2005). Of course, I’m not saying that was connected but to this day, I really do think that the big Mitt Romney in the sky had it in for me for some reason.

[emmaki]

I reckon there’s a story to supernatural Mormon arsonists. I’m getting on the phone to HBO! 2005 seems like it was a challenging year for you…

[cyaxrex]

We’ll 2005 was pretty interesting. I wouldn’t like my mug all over a HBO drama though. Besides, the most cinematic scenes would be of me hiding under my bay window peeing myself.

That said, there could be the occasional cliffhanger episode ending of me bending over a chest freezer in the supermarket to pick up a box of fish fingers, only to right myself and be confronted by the smiling and eerily childlike face of Elder Hume.

“Andy!” He’d say nice and politely as a the thump of my and viewers hearts would start to down out the clink of passing trolleys.

“What a surprise!”

[misscrystal]

So they used the old “burn down close” on you. Used in the sales profession with stubborn hold outs: “the last one who wouldn’t buy it had his business burn down.”