Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Racism
Being this particular color, I have to face racism pretty much everytime I go into public. For those of you who don't know, I am an Indian, and I look like an Indian (long hair, dark skin).
Here are a couple of recent experiences that are not all that unusual for me, and I'll undoubtedly have to face in one form or another for the rest of my life.
On Sunday, I went to a local bar/family restaurant that I had not been in before. These places usually serve big portions, and I hadn't eaten a real meal all day. Upon entrance, I noticed two things. One, it's a smoking restaurant. Two, everybody was white working class, except me, of course. Knowing that I most likely wouldn't get served in a place like this, I walked up to the bar and asked for a menu. The waitress handed me a menu and said to sit wherever and she would be there to serve me soon. After about 15 mintues and 8 or more passes by the waitress, I knew that I was not welcome there. So, I left.
The other is a fellow employee. This man had called me "chief" once, and I told him not to. We discussed it, and that was that. I have a habit of trying to make my fellow employees happy. It's tough being in the labor force, often tedious, so I like to throw in a few things that lighten up peoples days. I call most of the guys "he man." This does it's job in lightening people up. No one has ever complained, until yesterday. I called that particular person "he man" and he called me "chief" again. I told him not to call me chief, and my blood was instantly boiling. "Then don't call me "he man," he said. "My name is..." "You should have mentioned this before," I told him. It never, to my knowledge, offended him that I called him "he man." Ever! I could tell he was making his racially superior awareness to me. You see, he was showing me that I was being just like him with his calling me "chief" as I was in calling him "he man." I know this because this bullshit has been pulled on me by so many other racially superior whites in MANY different forms. I know how he is thinking. He was pulling one up on me and telling me that if his racially superior personhood can't refer to me by a racial slur, then I should not be allowed to call him something endearing. In his racially superior mind, it is the exact same thing. It isn't, however, for the reasons stated previously. And he is NOT the kind of WHITE MAN that lets things like that slide. I've been calling him and every other guy there that since I began working there over a year ago. Upon return from our morning duties, the fucking piece of shit saw me enter the back and he saw me and said "Indian...a." He was wearing a hat that said "Indiana" on it, and was again displaying his racial superiority to me. My blood boiled, and were we not at work, I'd probably be in jail right now. But here is something else.
I know this racist fucking piece of shit is also my fellow human being. Although I like to think otherwise, I would still help the racist piece of shit out if people were busting his ass. If this racist piece of shit needed my help, I would still probably help his racist fellow human ass. However, I have absolutely no belief that the racist ass mother fucker would have my back, nor would I EVER rely on him to do so.
I guess I can add these to my list:
Being told by a white woman that I have the sould of a "white man."
Being told by a black man that I'm a "white man."
My sister and I going into a restaurant and our names not even being taken (several times in different places).
"How do you say...in Indian?"
The thousands and thousands of racist looks every time I enter the public realm.
Well, welcome to my world my fellow human beings. It's like this for millions of people with racially inferior skin colors. For some it's worse, for others it's not so bad, but it is there, everyday of our lives. ....Welcome...
Here are a couple of recent experiences that are not all that unusual for me, and I'll undoubtedly have to face in one form or another for the rest of my life.
On Sunday, I went to a local bar/family restaurant that I had not been in before. These places usually serve big portions, and I hadn't eaten a real meal all day. Upon entrance, I noticed two things. One, it's a smoking restaurant. Two, everybody was white working class, except me, of course. Knowing that I most likely wouldn't get served in a place like this, I walked up to the bar and asked for a menu. The waitress handed me a menu and said to sit wherever and she would be there to serve me soon. After about 15 mintues and 8 or more passes by the waitress, I knew that I was not welcome there. So, I left.
The other is a fellow employee. This man had called me "chief" once, and I told him not to. We discussed it, and that was that. I have a habit of trying to make my fellow employees happy. It's tough being in the labor force, often tedious, so I like to throw in a few things that lighten up peoples days. I call most of the guys "he man." This does it's job in lightening people up. No one has ever complained, until yesterday. I called that particular person "he man" and he called me "chief" again. I told him not to call me chief, and my blood was instantly boiling. "Then don't call me "he man," he said. "My name is..." "You should have mentioned this before," I told him. It never, to my knowledge, offended him that I called him "he man." Ever! I could tell he was making his racially superior awareness to me. You see, he was showing me that I was being just like him with his calling me "chief" as I was in calling him "he man." I know this because this bullshit has been pulled on me by so many other racially superior whites in MANY different forms. I know how he is thinking. He was pulling one up on me and telling me that if his racially superior personhood can't refer to me by a racial slur, then I should not be allowed to call him something endearing. In his racially superior mind, it is the exact same thing. It isn't, however, for the reasons stated previously. And he is NOT the kind of WHITE MAN that lets things like that slide. I've been calling him and every other guy there that since I began working there over a year ago. Upon return from our morning duties, the fucking piece of shit saw me enter the back and he saw me and said "Indian...a." He was wearing a hat that said "Indiana" on it, and was again displaying his racial superiority to me. My blood boiled, and were we not at work, I'd probably be in jail right now. But here is something else.
I know this racist fucking piece of shit is also my fellow human being. Although I like to think otherwise, I would still help the racist piece of shit out if people were busting his ass. If this racist piece of shit needed my help, I would still probably help his racist fellow human ass. However, I have absolutely no belief that the racist ass mother fucker would have my back, nor would I EVER rely on him to do so.
I guess I can add these to my list:
Being told by a white woman that I have the sould of a "white man."
Being told by a black man that I'm a "white man."
My sister and I going into a restaurant and our names not even being taken (several times in different places).
"How do you say...in Indian?"
The thousands and thousands of racist looks every time I enter the public realm.
Well, welcome to my world my fellow human beings. It's like this for millions of people with racially inferior skin colors. For some it's worse, for others it's not so bad, but it is there, everyday of our lives. ....Welcome...
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