The Crime Of Being White

I guess I'm not going to be able to eat at a nearby barbeque restaurant anymore.  It was a place I frequented in the early eighties when I worked for the school district here.  It is also the place where I have picked up a takeout sandwich and fries for special occasions these past eighteen years. 


The last time I went  --  on my seventy-sixth birthday the end of July  --  one of the waitresses began growling as soon as I walked in the door.  The clerk who took my order seemed amused at all the guttural noises and kept asking me if I didn't want a drink with my sandwich.


I noticed that no matter where I stood, the noisy one kept moving behind the drink machines.  I was clueless.  I have become used to angry African Americans in the last couple of years.  For some reason I have become a favorite target of black women during this time.  I don't see myself as having changed a lot over the period (though such behaviors could certainly cause big changes), so I'm having trouble understanding the attacks.


During the transaction, a young man who makes the sandwiches moved into view and stood watching in silence.  He, usually a friendly employee, seemed stunned.  But neither he, nor the lady who took my order, tried to stop the growling or the event she was hiding from my view.


As far as I know, I've never seen this young lady anywhere.  This was definitely the first time she had ever plated my food.  I've never worked with her anywhere and believe her to be way too young to have been someone I tested in the school district  --  which can raise a lot of ire if parents or students don't like the test results.


I'm sure the family who owns this barbecue chain would be appalled if they knew of her behavior.  The young lady would probably even lose her job.  You see, when I got home and unwrapped my sandwich, I found a wet spot in the middle of my fries, just the size of a mouth full of saliva.


And African Americans wonder why racism just won't go away when they behave in such a manner for no apparent reason but our crime of being white.