Guest Columnist
Excuse Me, Do You Work Here?
by Jarad Sanchez
Why is it every time I walk into a Home Depot people ask me where to find the plumbing fixtures? It’s not like I walk around wearing an orange apron. And why is it that when I dress up for a black tie event, people let me know that their table could use some more wine? Or how about when I walk into a Kinko’s copies, people tell me their ready to have their order rung up? They have uniforms too. They even have name tags and I usually don’t walk around wearing one.
Could it be that the color of my skin, a dark chocolate shade, tells people where my societal and economic status ought to be? I used to think it was just me, but maybe it’s really not.
Today, even some of the most accomplished people of color have to deal with the unabated ignorance of people whose hands they try to shake. The first bit of news comes from that champion of racial insensitivity, Rush Limbaugh. He bragged that while having dinner at some swank restaurant, former President Bill Clinton introduced him to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa whom he mistook for the “shoe shine guy.” Who thinks, “Of course, the former President of the United States introduced me to a Latino in a suit so that he could shine my shoes?”
Of course, this is the same Rush Limbaugh that called Senator Barack Obama a “Magic Negro.” This is, also, the same Limbaugh who resigned from ESPN for saying NFL quarterback Donavan McNabb was overrated because people want to see a Black quarterback succeed.
But even Senator Barack Obama sometimes suffers from mistaken identity. When he tried to speak to one North Carolina resident, he was waved away with little acknowledgment. The man later explained that he doesn’t care for Muslims. Isn’t it interesting that the Senator would be called a Muslim, as if that’s a bad thing, while being knocked for having an outspoken Christian preacher.
It makes me wonder. If an accomplished Latino and potentially the first Black American President are met with such disrespect, will the day ever come when someone won’t assume they know what my tax bracket or my life story by the color of my skin? Maybe someday, but it’s clearly not this day.
Posted at 9:45 AM, May 07, 2008 in Identity | Permalink | View Comments
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Comments
Frankly, the total eradication of such stereotypes won't happen in our lifetime. But as much as those cases of "mistaken identity" burns me, I'm more concerned with actually seeing the narrowing of the wealth gap between whites and other minorities myself.
Posted by: Kjen | May 8, 2008 2:31 AM
I'd hate to say it but I don't see that day coming. Ever. So long as people are comfortable in profiting off of racism and are comfortable with their racist ideologies, that'll never happen.
If that day that ever comes, my great grandchildren's great grandchildren will be in their graves. Even the most "progressive" White liberal has their Freudian slips.
Americans simply don't appreciate diversity.
Posted by: Anonymiss | May 8, 2008 5:47 AM
Dude, it's Rush Limbaugh. He is a racist, sexist, homophobic.
Posted by: BORED KIDZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! | May 8, 2008 7:53 AM
"But as much as those cases of "mistaken identity" burns me, I'm more concerned with actually seeing the narrowing of the wealth gap between whites and other minorities myself."
I think that this is the only way you'll see the fading of such stereotypes: when assuming certain things about certain groups causes cognitive dissonance. When middle class and wealthy Blacks/Latino[/a]s are no longer "exceptions to the rule" (as in, nearly all B/L are poor, so when you see one who isn't it's a "big surprise"), that sort of stereotyping and essentializing will result in one constantly making incorrect judgments.
Posted by: Jason | May 8, 2008 8:40 AM
No matter what store I'm in, no matter how well I'm dressed, some white woman will always come up and ask me where something is or if I can get her a ____ in her size. Very few apologize when I coldly tell them I do not work there. It pisses me off every time.
Posted by: inciquay | May 8, 2008 8:47 AM
This used to happen to me frequently before I started wearing a head scarf. I'm a white woman. I think it may be a class thing additionally to a race thing. I dress "alternatively" don't "look" educated or even middle class as that is how some folks perceive (shudder) hispters.
Posted by: Brooke AKA Ummbadier | May 8, 2008 11:22 AM
@Brooke: I definitely agree that it is a class thing coupled with a race thing: since you are of a certain race, you must belong to a certain class.
@Jason: I agree that shrinking the economic gap would go a long way in eradicating those stereotypes; however, the more the gap shrinks, the greater the resistance to that shrinkage from power groups. Actions will be taken to preserve such dominance.
Posted by: Alston Adams | May 9, 2008 7:51 AM
As the economy continues to decline and more and more people start to experience poverty, the race association with class will diminish. The wealthy will never give up their privilege but as they continue to impoverish the proletariat I believe more people will see commonality through a shared class position.
Posted by: Renee | May 9, 2008 6:33 PM
it happens to me all the time in the uk. maybe i shouldn't wear black top to toe all the time as it seems all restaurant staff do.. - but hey - i am an eighties girl and love well cut japanese clothes..
it happened last on thursday when i was lunching with colleagues at our favourite restaurant....
some old yt man doddering his way to the way to the bathroom at the same time as me asked me if i could show him the way 'miss'.. on walking right past him (because i know where the bathroom is in this restaurant) i calmly said - no and left him to it hoping his colostomy bag would burst...
it happens in shops.. it happens in bars...
sometimes i look blankly at them or through them... 'no' seems to work best...
Posted by: london | May 11, 2008 12:52 PM