28/05/2019
True story:
I was bartending memorial weekend at a country club
A gentleman at the bar: where are you from?
Me: Chicago
Gentleman at the bar: no I mean before that, where is mom and dad from?
Me: Baghdad
Gentleman at the bar: oh nice, you have an exotic look.... PAUSE.. have you watched Homeland?
Me: no but I heard it’s a good show
Another bartender: what’s that?
Gentleman at the bar: it’s a show about terrorism, really good show and AS YOU KNOW, ALL TERRORISTS ARE USUALLY FROM THE MIDDLE EAST.
Another bartender: wow did he just say that?
Here is my take on this, and that’s not to say it’s the right or the wrong way to react to this type of thing.
I wasn’t angry, not because what he said wasn’t offensive
I wasn’t disappointed and not because what he said wasn’t ignorant.
If I had reacted offended, I would have played into what this world has come to... angry waiting for someone to make a mistake and say something ...
I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt
What if....
What if he really didn’t mean what he said?
What if he is the nicest guy and said it but regretted it?
What if he meant it but didn’t know how it would affect people who are engaging in the conversation with him?
What if he really didn’t know, needed to be educated and me overacting May have deprived him from seeing how peaceful we really are.
Why get angry when there is nothing I can do to change what he said?
Why get angry when the only thing I can do, is leave him to his thoughts ?
The world has become ultra sensitive
We are all offended by race, gender, sexual orientation, pay class, political party and religious beliefs that we often wait for someone to say the wrong thing so we can pounce on them and start an argument.
# proudiraqi
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