Things said inside the confidence of your home's walls is one thing. To speak openly in public is entirely something different.
I gave in to my food fetish today and stopped by McDonalds for lunch. I was enjoying a Bic Mac and fries...with extra pickles.
(It's essential to order something 'special' about your meal to assure freshness. I always order extra pickles for the sandwich part...still trying to figure out a sure fire way to get fresh fries though.)
As I sat there relaxing, I overheard a family chatting at a table behind me. Now I do realize that eavesdropping isn't nice, but they weren't speaking discreetly so it was a tad difficult not to hear. When people speak loudly, I assume they want those in earshot to listen. Otherwise, wouldn't they be more cautious about their volume level?
Anyways. They were loud. I listened. I couldn't avoid it.
I picked up in the coversation where they were talking about 'relatives' and one of the girls commented, "I'm not related to him by ~blood~...just by marriage!"
Then an adult said, "Yeah, your aunt married the white guy!"
The girl snickered and replied, "Yeah, right!" and continued laughing...
The adult then added, "Yeah...The CRACKER!"
I glance around the room, and realize my daughter and I are the only white people there. It wasn't packed by any means, but regardless...
I felt offended. There are a lot of derrogatory terms to use for a lot of different ethnicities, however, joking or not joking, it's disrepectful to use them. Especially if you're not in the privacy of your own home.
Before I could stop myself from getting involved, I realized I had turned around and was glaring at the man. How rude he was!
Their voices hushed after that, and when one of the other young girls went to continue, a quick "SHUT YOUR PIE HOLE!" was blurted out cutting her off to silence.
What a role model.
As I stood to leave, I caught eye contact with the adult at that table. He gave me a forlorn look, and I returned a look of non-expression. As an adult those children look to for guidance, he should prove to be someone who can mold them to become the best they can be and teach them to be accepting and open minded. This is probably the teacher in me feeling most upset, for far too often I've seen childrens' views skewed negatively by the adults in their lives.
Children are like sponges--they will soak up anything and everything around them.
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3 comments:
What if you asked for fries with no salt and then secretly salted them yourself? Would that get you a fresh set of fries?
- John
How horrible! I was at the mall once, eating McDonald's no less, and at the table next to me was a girl and her mother. The girl was complaining to her mother that she did not want a "black teacher" for school. The mother muttered something, but I can tell by their body language and expressions that she was in no way correcting what her daughter was saying. I felt like telling this little girl that one of the best teachers I had in grade school happened to be African-American. It still amazes me that even nowadays there are people who are so ignorant, and think nothing of passing it on to their offspring :(.
And I once new someone who insisted on fresh items at McD's. She always asked for a burger with nothing on it and fries with no salt. Worked every time.
Yep, can you imagine if you had referred to a black person using the "N" word at that level? They would have blown up, and shot you, then sued you. It's funny how people think racism only goes one way. As far as a role model goes, I bet none of them would ever realize they had offended you. Oh well, they say you can't save everybody but I've never known why.
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