Quote:
Originally posted by miss priss
When we moved into our neighborhood, our daughter wanted to make friends with 3 Caucasian girls(who happened to be sisters). Her mother stormed out of the door to see who she was.No problem..untilllllll she casually asked me what I did for a living...no problem. Where my husband worked, not a problem. Then where did I go to school and yadayadayada. Of couse being a parent , I didn't think much of it. Until I asked her what she did,where she went to school, and what her husband does. Her answers were nothing ,junior college, and prepares taxes. Can you believe it! Then I got the feeling that this was some kind of interview to test my lifestyle. We live directly across the street from these people. Beyond the one time they played, of which we both supervised, our kids never played again. I then started to assess my "paranoia". At my job, it seemed as though my white co-workers challenged my ability. (When I mentioned I went to a HBCU, they merely shrugged as though my school wasn't capable of producing a quality professional in any arena.) Any idea I had was not feasible but they would use it and turn it around as though it was not the same. Sometimes, I would find myself explaining and proving myself ALL the time. And then there is the lady at the grocery who places the money on the table or holds the money at the edge of the dollar or drops the change in my hand as if I'll bite her.  Is it mere paranoia?
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No
you are not paranoid. This happens to me all the time with some people. In college, i use to work at a grocery store, and folks would throw their money on the counter, even though my hand would be extended out to take their money. This primarily happened with old white people. Since they were old I shrugged them off thinking that they were probably still pissed off and haven't accepted the changes after the civil rights movement
. In regards to the neighbors, I currently have a dumba ass living next door to me. Out of all the people that live on this floor, he would ALWAYS come and knock on my door asking to use the phone, saying mess like "yah, you know how it is when your phone is cut off"
WTF??? I'd just simpy reply NO I don't and slam the door. Or one time this fool wanted to run an extention coor from my apt to his because his lights were off. WTF?? I guess, once again, he ASSUMED that I would know what that's like.
Oh, and in regards to the work situation, oh my, I can totally relate. When one of us (or me since I was the only MINORITY) would bring up an idea, so response. But when my co-worker brings up the exact same things, then all of a sudden it was a great idea. It was like that whatever I said had to be validated by someone white.