ignorant people
While I was at Texas Oncology today, I noticed this old white man with his wife (who had cancer) and I couldn’t help but watch them interact. They looked sooo cute from afar. He seemed restless. He kept getting up and asking her if she needed anything. At one point, he grabbed some magazines for her and asked her to choose one and he laughed when she chose ‘People’ over ‘Time.’ At this point, I was pretty much staring, but I didn’t care. I thought it was so sweet how they were being with each other. Their body language said it all. Cancer was only making the love they have for each other stronger. I was taken aback. That’s really neat, you know?
There were these two mexican women sitting together and they were talking pretty loudly. This seemed to bother the old couple, but I was thinking, “Aww, how cute, right? Even the same things bother them. They’re getting old and lots of noise gets on their nerves.” The old man turns to me and my sister and says, “They’re so loud aren’t they?” We smile politely and say “Yeah, I know!” And then what does he say? “They’re such loud people. I wonder if they’d be so loud if we called Immigration.”
He LAUGHED as if he had just said the funniest thing ever.
I think it’s HILARIOUS that people make comments like that to me. It’s funny that people have this stereotypical view of Mexicans and would never even entertain the idea that I might be one. I’m sure that had he known that my sister and I were more Mexican than anything, he would have not said a word. I didn’t let it get to me. If he had been about twenty years younger, then I probably would have shot my mouth off. But in this case, they’re old, whatever. I gave him a fake chuckle and thankfully, I was out of there before he could say another word.
It reminds me of a time in college when I was at the Border Cafe @ Harvard Square with some friends. You know the one — my favorite Tex-Mex restaurant on church st. behind the COOP (not the book store but the one where they sell all the shirts and harvard gear and crap). Two friends and I were waiting at the bar because it was packed that night and we were going to have to wait about 30 minutes to get seated. So we’re there and this white girl comes up to me and is like, “I like your cologne, what are you wearing?!” I laughed and said, “wow, you’re sniffing me already? You don’t even know my name yet…” And so we talked for a few minutes, no big. In five minutes, I found out that her name was Rachel, she lived in Brookline but was visiting a friend in Cambridge so that’s why she was there, and she was Republican. I should’ve known, you know? So anyway, her friend calls her to tell her that her table is ready so she smiles, says bye, and is on her merry way. Two minutes later, she’s back. She said, “UGH, that fucking Mexican douchebag just gave our table to someone else! They’re so incompetent! I swear they take our jobs and they can’t even do them right.”
If I hadn’t thought that my fist would’ve gotten lost in her vagina, I would have punched it. Punched it real good. I just don’t understand how people can be so stupid like that!
I have plenty to say on the matter and perhaps I’ll pick up where I left off tomorrow. But for now, it’s late, I’m in pain, and I need some sleep.
God, I hope I don’t have nightmares tonight. Stay away from me in my dreams, Sarah Palin! You heard me!
