I am 1/4 Filipina because my grandfather met my grandmother when he was in the navy. I acknowledge I’m a Hapa but I identify very much with my heritage. 

I work at a large staffing agency and we have to share cubicles with one other person. I despise my cube mate. We don’t get along and I think he looks down on me because I’m a woman and I get sick of the way he talks to me. I also think he’s a closet racist because I see him watching clips on his phone from shows known to be racist. 

We’ve had a major problem over the last two weeks because he started dating this girl who’s real name is Sandy. Whenever he calls her or she stops by he calls her “San-San.” In my grandmothers part of the Philppines that is a deeply, deeply racist term used against the people who didn’t accept Spanish and American imperialism. It essentially is like calling someone dumb,  backwards and provincial. 

I told him right away that the term bothered me. He said it’s his girlfriend’s nickname and he was only referring to her. I told him it’s still unacceptable to use that term around me or ever really. He told me he’d try to check himself. Well not only did he not, he actually got worse and started saying it multiple times a day. I told him on Friday I was going to HR if he did it again. Well this morning he did so I went strait to HR. Good chance he may be fired (he’s had other issues too).

My floor is pretty much split on whether or not I did the right thing or if I was just being an over sensitive asshole. What is your judgment? Am I the asshole? 