...and it seems you in now way resembled someone who does this type of work for a living. Is it acceptable for me to go up to a greasy guy working on his truck in the driveway and ask him if he can fix my transmission? If it wasn't stereotyping than she may be even dumber than i though.
she was trying to make a pass on you you shoulda went with her. You are the sexy worker, she is the lonely housewife.
People look at other people and assume a lot of things. My youngest son is severely autistic and when we go places my son feels more secure if he grabs my arm with his hand. Since he looks normal and he's 5-10 165lbs at 12 years old, people give a doubletake and look at me like I'm some pervert or something when they see his hand on my arm. The bottomline is if someone says or thinks something ignorant, there's not much I can do to change it. If I lash out and accuse them of being ignorant and they aren't I've just penalized a person with an open mind. It's better to just move on and worry about things that really matter in the grand scheme of things.
+1. She's probably just one of those ladies that assumes anyone who does handiwork also does it for pay. You were working on your house, she needed work done, and she gave you a business proposition. Perhaps she would've done the same thing if it was a white person working on their house. Who knows? The one thing I do know is that if there is a situation where you are not sure if it is racism or not, it's usually best to just give people the benefit of the doubt. If you err on the side of always assuming racism, you'll just continue the cycle of hate.
This analogy isn't a good one. If the greasy guy was at a gas station, then, yes, of course it'd be completely acceptable. MoBalls had many of the traits associated with a "handyman" - not a contractor, but hired labor. He was at a house (where you'd typically find a handyman doing home work...again, you wouldn't typically find an auto mechanic at a house but rather at a place of business), he was doing handy-man work, he was dressed (imo...again, not a contractor) in what could be construed as handy-man attire, and, whether racist or stereotypical, he is apparently hispanic - not all hispanics are handy-mans, not a majority of hispanics are handy-men, but, in Houston, you simply are more likely to find hispanic hired help than of another race. Not being racist, and don't have any scientific fact to back it up, but from personal experience, and from just keeping my eyes open, this is the case - especially when you consider hispanics represent that largest population group in Houston it's not that unexpected. I think you are overreacting, personally.
She didn't ask him if he did it for a living. Anyways, I'm sure he meant white people wouldn't know as in being stereotyped. I'm sure it can happen to whites also but I'm trying to think of a white stereotype that is offensive and can't think of anything. But in a sense, he is right. I don't believe white people endure the same type of racism as minorities have been through.
You're right. I shouldn't have commented that back to him. I should have reported his ass and didn't. But then you lost me with the "greasy guy" comment. MoBalls wasn't dressed up like a "lawny" guy or a "door-fixer" guy... he was wearing regular ol' Joe clothes. Toneh83, that's not a "stereotype," that's an "assumption." It's much different. If you "look" like you're a certain race, you... oh, dang... you have a point. Yeah, we should ALL talk to each other the same way. Well played, sir. FYI, yesterday a buddy and I just re-did the fence I mentioned a few months back and dealt with that pesky neighbor who still doesn't want to pay. MoBalls, if you need some help give this here brotha a holler... marica.
My reply was going to be a lot different before I read this. Thanks for sharing, and what a great post.
I had a similar experience. I was doing some math homework on my lawn because it was such a good day that day. Then some punk mom drives down in her white SUV gas guzzler and, AND the nerve of her! She asks me to tutor her kids for money.
I guess it was a crappy analogy but my point was that it would seem like a better idea for someone to take a second to figure out if this person is really a handy man. Seeing a dude in a t-shirt, cargo pants, and sandals wouldn't make me think that he was a carpenter. Why bother him, why not just find someone who is obviously a handy man? If anything, knowing the negative stereotypes would make me more sensitive to the ignorance that this person might have had to endure in their lifetime because of the color of their skin. So yeah, maybe it is being oversensitive but if you've been through alot of crap in the past i think you have a right to be that way. IMO being insensitive is alot worst than being oversensitive.
Usually, I'll do a double-take before I ask a stranger a racially-loaded question. Besides, these are all things that would go into building one's perception of Moballs in an instant without even thinking about it. If there had been a grimy old work truck full of tools and Moballs was wearing steel-toed boots, she'd have felt more confident in her evaluation and wouldn't need to bother asking if he lived there (a question she didn't wait to have answered, for those who like to refer to it). lol!
I think maybe the incident before about the grass cutting, got me thinking more than I should have. JayZ750 - you shouldnt start off a sentence with "Not being racist" But I hear you. I still feel that I didnt in no way look like a handy man or contractor. Hell, my Mercedes was parked in the garage! Lady Di - I will not paint your house...........cochina.
