I was getting breakfast in the cafeteria today and I was waiting in line to get hot food, and in front of me was a professor with two of his students and they were talking and joking. So when it’s their turn they begin to include the kitchen staff, which appeared to be mostly Hispanic, in their conversation. As they walk away the professor said to the man behind the counter “Hey Paco, we are going on a trip to Phoenix, you want to come?"And the guy behind the counter said "Yeah sure I Love Arizona" When he was walking away the Professor said to his students, "See, and that’s why we wouldn’t miss them." And they all laughed as they walked away. I was floored, and that image of the happy sambo kept flashing through my mind, like here is this man who is just going to another day at work, talking laughing jokking, and in comes this man making fun of him and he dossint even know it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Otherness. Sometimes the Dominant group in society is unaware of how they maintain dominant group status. (Sometimes they aren't.)
ReplyDeleteThis is why a basic study of race and ethnicity in the U.S. is so important. We have to realize that these things are funny. In fact, they're dehumanizing.
Thanks for sharing, Joanna. I wish I could say I didn't hear comments like these everyday...
I saw him again later that day yelling at a young hispanic boy in Strokos too, i was really tempted to say something but- with my luck he'd just round on me and i'd get exprelled for insulting a Pulitzer Prize winner... some winner he is. He was yelling at that poor kid who was just doing his job, he was cursing up a storm and kept waving his hands in the boys face saying "Do you even understand what the f*** im saying to you." Ughhh I hate that guy.
ReplyDeleteyou going to meet people like that through out life, just life
ReplyDelete