Oh I've got one! I was at a party last night, and I was talking to an acquaintance when a guy I had never met came up to us and started talking to us. He asked us where we're from, etc. It turns out the acquaintance and this guy went to high schools that were very close to each other. They were talking about their town and schools, and then the guy mentioned that the neighborhood was "changing for the worse". He said, "Yeah, there's a lot of Arabs and blacks there now, though" Now, if I hadn't had a few drinks, I would have been a bigger person and politely excused myself from the conversation ASAP...it clearly wasn't worthwhile to waste the time of day on this guy. But, like I said, I had a few cocktails, and opened my big mouth.
I said, "So? Why's that bad? What's wrong with a little diversity?" The guy, who CLEARLY was not expecting that one, just kind of looked at me stunned. I guess the crowd he runs in all shares the same beliefs...and apparently they think everyone else in the world does too? "I enjoy experiencing other cultures, but maybe that's because I'm half Puerto Rican" (I know, lame argument, but I was a tipsy
). I continued with, "I hope my being Latino doesn't bother you." Then he replied, "Oh no, you're fine, because you act white."
All I do was say, "Yeah, nice talking to ya" and walk away. I guess I won though. He looked incredibly awkward after that, and left within about 10 minutes.
I'm happy I contained myself. If I've been drinking and you get me on a subject that I feel strongly about, I will not let it go, lol. But I'm really starting to realize that you just can't change people's beliefs and spending time stressing and being upset about is not worth it.
One thing I find funny about the whole situation is the fact that the guy just ASSUMED it was okay to say something like that to strangers. Really? He doesn't know our backgrounds or beliefs...I don't know, if you feel that way fine, but to reveal your ignorant beliefs to perfect strangers is potentially asking for it. It reminds me of a situation my dad was in once...
He somehow started talking to a neighbor who lives around the block one day. To my knowledge, they had only met recently and talked once or twice before. Well, they were talking about the neighborhood, and the guy says to my dad, "There's too many n****** and 'spics moving in." He said this. To my father. Who is 100% Puerto Rican. That just blows my mind because you can tell that my dad is Latino! WTF! My dad just said, "You're an idiot" and walked away. What's even more ridiculous is his definition of "too many": According to the statistics I found my neighborhood is 88% white, <1% Black, and 6% Latino.
Oh, people.
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