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Location: Living near our Nation's Capitol since 2010
2,218 posts, read 3,454,810 times
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A little background: I am a white female who was raised in the Midwest. I was raised, both at home and at school and at church, to believe that all races are equal, we should treat everyone the way we want to be treated, etc. I live my life that way, I agree with Martin Luther King that we should judge folks by the strength of character rather than by the color of their skin, etc.
I moved back to DC last Fall. I live in a predominantly black neighborhood of professionals, have great neighbors, etc. No racial issues at all..that is why, what happened to me today (at the library, then yet!!) rocked me to the core.
I went to the library a few blocks from my home, found 4 books I wanted to borrow and went to the desk. This library serves what is primarily (90% or so, approximately) black neighborhood. There were no other patrons at the check out desk, there was a young (30 year old?) librarian/library clerk at the desk. She was checking in books, etc. I stood in front of her, politely and silently, while she finished what she was doing. She looked directly at me, I smiled at her, but she then calmly went back to being busy on the computer. Since I did not want to be pushy, I waited, assuming she was finishing something important...but
Two separate black patrons walked up to her and asked her questions...like where certain materials might be found, where is the bathroom, etc. She very cordially and in a friendly manner chatted with them. After the second one left, I said, "If you could, I would like to check these 4 books out, please". She looked at me and said nothing for a few seconds, and then said (reluctantly), "yes, I didnt see you" Actually yes she did, she looked directly into my eyes and then she helped two other patrons.
By now I was feeling pretty upset. I said, "I didnt think this kind of thing still went on in this day and age" and she smiled and said, "well, I am not sure what you refer to". I said, "I think you know what I mean" and she smiled and said, "yes". She silently checked my materials out and slid them over to me.
Silly me, I thanked her and walked away..she never said another word.
I am almost positive it was a racial snub but would be curious as to your reactions.
Last edited by FlightAttendant; 02-24-2011 at 03:25 PM..
Reason: spelling
Now if a black person on these boards had posted such a story, one could expect a slew of post chastising the writer to stop playing the race card and just accept that the person was just plain old rude, obnoxious or whatever.
Was this a result of racism, or to be more precise prejudice, who knows for sure. Whatever happened, based solely on what the author has written, was unfortunate, rude and certainly warranted being discussed with her superiors. An incident of racial discrimination maybe, but welcome to the world of people of color who constantly have to guess was the person being just rude or what they being rude as a result of their race.
I would treat it as an isolated incident, don't let one bad apple spoil the basket.
IMO, acknowledging it only fed the fire. For a racist, it isn't fun unless you can (in her case, passively) show it.
An incident of racial discrimination maybe, but welcome to the world of people of color who constantly have to guess was the person being just rude or what they being rude as a result of their race.
What a terrible thing to say. Way to completely minimize what the OP went through.
A little background: I am a white female who was raised in the Midwest. I was raised, both at home and at school and at church, to believe that all races are equal, we should treat everyone the way we want to be treated, etc. I live my life that way, I agree with Martin Luther King that we should judge folks by the strength of character rather than by the color of their skin, etc.
I moved back to DC last Fall. I live in a predominantly black neighborhood of professionals, have great neighbors, etc. No racial issues at all..that is why, what happened to me today (at the library, then yet!!) rocked me to the core.
I went to the library a few blocks from my home, found 4 books I wanted to borrow and went to the desk. This library serves what is primarily (90% or so, approximately) black neighborhood. There were no other patrons at the check out desk, there was a young (30 year old?) librarian/library clerk at the desk. She was checking in books, etc. I stood in front of her, politely and silently, while she finished what she was doing. She looked directly at me, I smiled at her, but she then calmly went back to being busy on the computer. Since I did not want to be pushy, I waited, assuming she was finishing something important...but
Two separate black patrons walked up to her and asked her questions...like where certain materials might be found, where is the bathroom, etc. She very cordially and in a friendly manner chatted with them. After the second one left, I said, "If you could, I would like to check these 4 books out, please". She looked at me and said nothing for a few seconds, and then said (reluctantly), "yes, I didnt see you" Actually yes she did, she looked directly into my eyes and then she helped two other patrons.
By now I was feeling pretty upset. I said, "I didnt think this kind of thing still went on in this day and age" and she smiled and said, "well, I am not sure what you refer to". I said, "I think you know what I mean" and she smiled and said, "yes". She silently checked my materials out and slid them over to me.
Silly me, I thanked her and walked away..she never said another word.
I am almost positive it was a racial snub but would be curious as to your reactions.
Now if a black person on these boards had posted such a story, one could expect a slew of post chastising the writer to stop playing the race card and just accept that the person was just plain old rude, obnoxious or whatever.
Was this a result of racism, or to be more precise prejudice, who knows for sure. Whatever happened, based solely on what the author has written, was unfortunate, rude and certainly warranted being discussed with her superiors. An incident of racial discrimination maybe, but welcome to the world of people of color who constantly have to guess was the person being just rude or what they being rude as a result of their race.
Your post just completely nullified her claim. Isn't that your beef when you post the possibility of racism towards you? Yet here you are doing the very thing you complain others do to you.
A racist person just seems to be characterized as grumpy, cold people these days. Racism shouldn't still exist. I'm white and I live in a mostly hispanic/mexican population but no ones racist or at least shows it... so being a minority in this city doesnt bother me and shouldnt for other as well.
I have been treated in the same fashion by black females in this area before and I'm black, so please don't take it personal. I can understand where you're coming from though, as I always think the same when the rude person is white. It has come to a point that when I'm in line somewhere, be it Starbucks, some store in a Mall, or God-forbid DMV, as soon as I see a black female at the register, I automatically expect them to be rude towards me. It's life. Just be a bigger person and move on.
Now if a black person on these boards had posted such a story, one could expect a slew of post chastising the writer to stop playing the race card and just accept that the person was just plain old rude, obnoxious or whatever.
Was this a result of racism, or to be more precise prejudice, who knows for sure. Whatever happened, based solely on what the author has written, was unfortunate, rude and certainly warranted being discussed with her superiors. An incident of racial discrimination maybe, but welcome to the world of people of color who constantly have to guess was the person being just rude or what they being rude as a result of their race.
I do agree with part of your point, I think prejudice is a more appropriate word for many of these types of incidents.
I think the numbers of people who are racist are relatively small.
Racism is the belief that the genetic factors which constitute race, ethnicity, or nationality are a primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that ethnic differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.
But Prejudice is higher than we think.
A prejudice is a prejudgment, an assumption made about someone or something before having adequate knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy. The word prejudice is most commonly used to refer to a preconceived judgment toward a people or a person because of race, social class, gender, ethnicity, homelessness, age, disability, obesity, religion, sexual orientation or other personal characteristics. It also means beliefs without knowledge of the facts and may include "any unreasonable attitude that is unusually resistant to rational influence."
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