Everyday Racism

[poliphilo]

The guy has come to replace the boiler. The new boiler will be 31% more efficient, he says. He arrived on time and spent the first 20 minutes telling us about his friend the boffin and how his friend the boffin once made a artificial heart valve and how his friend the boffin used to fine tune motor bikes.

I thought, I don't know why you're telling us all this but maybe it's a ploy to put us at our ease. A technique.

Then he asked us- apropos of nothing- if we'd been "invaded".

I thought Ailz fielded it adroitly. She said we got on very well with our neighbours and since they were mostly muslims we didn't got bothered by drunks wobbling up and down the street on Friday nights.

It sort of killed the conversation though.

Comments

[veronica-milvus.livejournal.com]

Like... what happened when the Brits decided to invade India...? at least we did a proper invasion, with soldiers and all. The immigrants who then came over here were not really trying hard enough.

Wonder what he says to them when he goes to fix their boilers?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

He was saying he does a lot of jobs for "those people" and some of them are "all right".

[msjann65.livejournal.com]

The "nice ones, though", as my own parents used to call black people they liked. Ages ago...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Phrases like that are a giveaway.

Another is, "Some of my best friends are Asian/black/gay, but..."

[daisytells.livejournal.com]

Right on! I always sensed parental disapproval at my being involved in the Civil Rights Movement, though they were never very outspoken about it. Mostly they talked about how it was too bad that "everyone" wasn't a good as Dr. King. They were not so quiet about me being involved in anti-war protests, though. God bless them, they meant well, but were in a different place than I was. Now, so many years later, Ma and I agree on major issues. She is no longer afraid of black people or people who speak other languages, and she is absolutely opposed to the current president and his policies. She backs me on my current war protests as strongly as she used to oppose me during the Vietnam thing.
Times change, don't they?

[mokie]

The immigrants who then came over here were not really trying hard enough.

They need flags.