While working...scratch that, observing at my new job, an Indian guy comes in for service. The guy is older and eye's the seat next to me, his nephew tells him to have a seat, he shoots me the side eye and decides to stand. I'm just like whatever, I know he didn't!!! So he leaves out and then the mofu comes back in to ask for directions, I give him directions and of course he doesn't acknowledge me. By this time he's waiting for directions from a guy without a clue and decides to have a seat, but before doing so, he slides the chair away from me.
Maybe its just me...I know racism is alive and well, but the South isn't even like this. It could be the lack of diversity in Southwest Ga., where everything is pretty much black and white. You know... the Old school plantation-move to the back of the bus-white fountain, black fountain type. The racism I've experienced here is the new school racism, racism
from other minorities towards African Americans/Blacks. With all of the diversity in the area you would think the color of my skin would not dictate racism, especially from another minority...that just irks the hell out of me!!! We were brought here unwillingly, while other minorities decide to move here for a better life, or live illegally, and still have the audacity to be racist as if there is one pure race. Racism has definitely evolved, now White people joke freely with Black people about other ethnicities...WTF? I know Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is rolling over in his grave, considering, his life was taken while fighting for all forms of equality.
Should I be looking at this in a different angle? Maybe the incident was gender based, but would that really make you slide your chair away from a person? At my previous job I worked with a great deal of Indian males. I won't generalize and say that they all would try to make me feel inferior as a woman, yet alone a black woman, but there was one who did. I'm still not sure if it was driven by my race or the fact that I was an educated, independent, single, black female in the workplace. I know there are several different cultural practices, but please don't impose them on me, especially when I'm in no way a part of the said culture. I know some of my friends will read this and jokingly say I think that everyone who isn't Black, White, Mexican, or Korean has to be Indian, LOL!!! Seriously, some parts of the South are not as culturally infused, and may be viewed as Black or White, with an occasional Mexican or Korean, not at all as diverse as the North.
To any of you who lives in the South and visited the North or vice versa, does racism differ in different areas? Are their characteristics or levels of racism? Are we handling racist incidents the correct way or just dealing/ignoring it? I know most of us claim not to be racist, but we all know what goes on behind closed doors. I think the reality show Black and White, was a great portrayal of how different races view others. There are sooo many misconceptions and stereotypes that have been feed to us through the years,
Examples:
*White people will always look out for each other
*Black people are lazy and won't work
*Jamaican and African men are aggressive and abusive
*Korean and Asians are cheap and are 'pimpin' the black community
AND EXCEDERA, EXCEDERA (in the voice and tune of Arra Kelly)
So will we ever be able to fully embrace the race portion of the famous I Have Dream speech?
