I guess I should shave this scraggily beard I've grown to protect myself from the cold wind during morning runs. I don't want to offend anyone.
No, but I do run by Chuy's several times and an In-and-Out burger. Stay away from them everyday from 9-11am, or you'll see a disheveled Indian guy pounding the pavement! Beware!
That is definitely racism. A guy walks into a donut store, and you leave? WTF? Don't tell me that you have never decided to anywhere before shaving and throwing on a three piece suit. Or was it the cell phone that got you thinking? The foreign language? Surely, you have more sense than this. There are bad seeds in every group. Adolf Hitler was one evil son of a b****...I don't hold it against other Germans. Man, next time you do something like this, please keep it to yourself...
Maybe this is the reason why my actions seemed so off base to a lot of people on here. I'm not in Houston...I'm in NJ. Perhaps being in the northeast makes me a tad more "look-over-my-shoulderish" than if I lived in Houston or anywhere not in the northeast. Definitely B-Bob. I know that a lot of people have the attitude of "well, if they arent going to tell me where exactly the bombs are going to go off, then don't tell me anything". I take the threat more seriously. I'm in NYC fairly often for various reasons. There are anti-terrorist specialists walking around with full body armour and machine guns. As recently as an hour ago, they had a report on the local news about the NJ trains that go into the city and about some specific threats that have been linked to the trains etc. I sometimes take these trains to NYC. Also, I live in a somewhat jewish area. Other people view the area I live in as a jewish town or jewish area (in reality, its about 35 % jewish) Therefore, a donut shop, a local temple, a diner etc dont seem like such unrealistic targets to me given the amount of jewish people in this area
That one is funny. I recall NJ saying he is not in Houston first off. Second, that statement is just plain foolish. Go scan the headlines from Sept 10, 2001 and see how many headlines there were about 4 planes being hijacked and slammed into various parts of America. As I stated in my recent incident, it’s best to go with your gut. NJ should not have to feel he was wrong regardless of the race of the individuals. I reacted the way I did (albeit w/ the wife and kid in the car) and the individuals were my race.
Unfortunately, we now live in the post-9/11 era where there is great anxiety with regards to the muslim population. But with that said I think there needs to be more understanding in a situation like this. I can understand where NJRocket is coming from and I appreciate his total forthcoming of the event. I think what is most telling is NJRocket felt shameful after the event. Clearly I don't see this as a matter of racism. Racism would be a blatant, unjust disgust for a people. But I do agree with acting on principle. I think I might had gone up to the man and told him good morning or something to that affect. When people make me feel uncomfortable I usually go up to them and try to spark conversation. I know if people tried to avoid me like this it would hurt. I think we as a society could do a better job with making people more comfortable and feel accepted. But as NJRocket said he lives in a targeted area and I'm not capable of placing myself in his shoes or ambiance.
NJRocket, One definition (of many) of racism is when you hold a certain prejudice against a group and use your position of power to act upon it (denial of service, job opportunities, etc). Using that definition, you're not racist, but you were being prejudicial. The media is painting a picture of the Arab Muslim stereotype as a terrorist. But check out the past acts of terror. The shoebomber,Richard Reid, wasn't any of them. He was a English immigrant who had Jamaican and white parents. Zacarias Moussaoui, the highjacker to be, was black. That man had as much chance holding up or blowing up that Duncan Donuts as those other ten people in the store. Should you use profiling powers in high profile areas (stadiums, government buildings, concerts, etc...) in order to ensure a degree of safety? Well what if you get hit by some loose railings to move away from them, or what if on your way home you get hit by another car? With so many ways to die, sometimes you just have to live. A terrorist's goal is to make an example or point so that the others who survive will live in terror and spread it. Such a simple no guarantees answer will not put your fears to rest. But thinking of how you're going to die won't give you a good nights sleep either. You're going to have to ask yourself whether or not you're going to deal with that kind of fear on the back of your mind because this "terror threat" is not going to go away anytime soon. It's going to grate upon the American consciousness, and at some point you might feel a need act upon these fears in other ways....
NJ, Did you walk out specifically because this dude was Middle Eastern? Or was it because he was disheveled? Or was it because of the cell phone talk? Or did the whole package influence your walking out? I must say that I appreciate you posting this topic and leaving yourself open for nasty replies... I personally wouldn't have walked out of the donut shop, but it would have probably crossed my mind to leave, not because the dude's ME, but mainly because of the GOD DAMN CELLPHONE! I think it's natural to have little moments of race based thought enter one's mind...what matters is how you react to it. I wouldn't call you a racist, but I would say you definitely overreacted...and I couldn't imagine how that Middle Eastern man felt seeing 4-5 guys leave just because he entered a room...
I seem to remember you publishing a similar tale about a time when you saw some men photographing a structure of some sort. What was that about? I guess it didn't come tumbling down.
Don't feel bad about it NJRocket. You're not a racist. Many people will not admit it but everyone has prejudices that have been developed over time through media, experiences, or from the way they where raised. It's the way you treat these people and fight through the stereotypes that seperates you from being a racist. I had a similar example of this a couple of months ago when I took a flight to San Francisco. While boarding the plane I saw two middle eastern guys already sitting down. One guy had a scruffy beard and the one next to him was more clean cut. When I looked at them I kinda had that "oh $hit feeling" develop in my stomach. I sat down around 5 rows behind them and observed everybody else who was boarding the plane. As you would expect just about everyone did a double take and took on a more somber expression when they saw them. Everyone is going to have prejudices whether you're a black guy walking down the street by yourself and you see two white guys with shaved heads, or if you're a white guy walking down the street by yourself and you see two black guys with cornroles in hip-hop gear. It's not PC to say that you have prejudices but everyone has them.
I guess my above post was kind of harsh, but I would still say that you definitely overreacted. I would be genuinely offended if I had been that man. Put yourself in his shoes...He's probably no different than any French, Chinese, or Russian immigrant with an accent and a cell phone. He needs his coffee just like you do. I wouldn't necessarily call you a racist because of your actions, but maybe because of your defense of your actions... "...these days you never know." Know what? "i did at first but the more i think about it, why take a chance?" Take a chance at what? "Cmon Jeff, not nearly the same thing. If the terrorists we were concerned with were white guys with crewcuts, then yes."
So now what every ME looking should do is act a bit strange, talk in a cell phone, in their ME language, and look a little shabby too. Then move right ahead to the front of the line (behind JV and a few others), and be served much sooner. Perfect.
lol Heath. giddyup... that's right, I saved Salt Lake. In all seriousness, I've felt silly since that day to an extent. Unfortunately, we've been put in a situation where we have to be cognizant of our surroundings these days. NJ, you're getting a lot of flack, but only you know what the circumstances were this morning. I respect the intuition that led you to put yourself up for ridicule. It's honest. We are all just living our lives. Somedays we make great decisions. Sometimes we're dorks. My general rule of thumb is to not run away from people of different ethnicities, nor do I immediately hand my wallet over to the first crazy Vietnam Vet that seems to be staring at me funny. Now if a couple of engineering students are pointing at a few buildings and have binoculars/cameras on lanyards, I may get carried away and call the FBI... but that's the sensationalist 'sharks, terrorists of the sea' world that we live in these days. It sucks. I really don't know what to do. I, like JV's friend, was once mugged b/c I was being naive. Maybe what we all should do, is just be open to everyone... and then when someone infringes on your rights, use a derogatory term to insult them. If it's a girl, use the c word. If it's someone from the middle east, use some racial or religious epithet. That'll get them...
You lie. There is no In-and-Out burger in Austin. I'm on the phone with the FBI as we type, I've told them to look for some skinny Indian dude with bloody nipples.
oops, i meant Short Stop. Uh-oh, I better get out there and start right now before they find me! Especially considering there are 2 motorcycle cops that constantly patrol the street I run on every morning, passing me by at least 10-15 times in the 2 hour period. Maybe someone already beat you to it months ago RM95?
