Quote:
Originally posted by MsSweetness
Soooo, I decided that since I live by the lake I could get some skates and skate on the bike path when spring time hits. It's minutes from my apt, walking, and I figured I would be able to get fresh air and exercise at the same time. My community is diverse and all types of people are along the lake (Hyde Park for you Chicagoans) in the spring and summer. I decided to tell a black male coworker today (I'm black too) and he said: "You always acting like a white girl." I was like  I got so offended. I didn't talk to him for a long while. I refused to discuss the situation with him.
My question is, did I overreact? I mean, should I have been that upset for him saying that to me?
Do we, as blacks, take things too far when trying to generalize our culture/people?
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Well given the huge health disparity of African Americans we need to be out there more enjoying the plain "outdoors"--forget sunshine--and doing some exercise...
I think that you were probably dealing with someone quite immature and I would have not given him the pleasure to even dignify his comment. The real question you have to ask is why did it bother you anyway?
So what if he called you a white girl because you said you were going to walk around Lake Michigan, who the EFF cares? Oprah would be doing it if she had the time, you might see her... Hayle, any number of folks may be up in there--as long as you are working out, really, who the EFF cares?
I am practicing barre (ballet) exercises in my gym before my aerobics class. Although I am in the Pac Northwest where EVERYBODY works out to some degree, I do get odd stares by folks for doing barre exercises. Personally, I think it is because folks are trying to figure out how they could do it because most folks think barre exercises and ballet is not that aerobic when it actually is... And it is very hard to do. The reason why it looks so easy on stage is that the folks have been doing it since they were walking and have regulated all the physiology (like heart rate) to make the presentation beautiful...
Do I think you overreacted? Probably not. Am I shocked that dude said something that ignorant to you? No... But if it were me and I chose to deal with that person today, I'd probably ask him why he thought it so I could see how far his head was in the toilet... Then I hoped he'd never get a heart attack.
But that's just me.