I was at the gym last doing my workout when suddenly I found myself in a position where I had to say something to an agitator. I had begun my workout when a woman from South Africa began to loudly broadcast her disdain for white males. "White people are stupid," she yelled. This was followed by,"White men don't do anything; they never earn anything; everything is given to them. They feel entitled to everything." No one is disputing that, sadly, racism still afflicts our society and the 'good ol' boys' network is firmly entrenched in our social fabric. However, this woman crossed a line. She was spewing bile that I found despicable and completely inappropriate. There are many white males and females out there who are immensely talented, but have no work or have had their homes foreclosed. Obviously, this didn't matter to the agitator who was busily issuing a blanket generalization of an entire race. What surprised me was that no one in the gym said anything to her. So I decided to say something. I said, "That's racist." Her husband said to me, "What was that?" I reiterated, "That's racist." I told her she could not condemn all people with her blanket diatribe. She came up to me and said "As a white man you have benefited from this sense of entitlement." I told her I was Hispanic. She walked away and I said, "You have a chip on your shoulder." She replied, "I have never noticed." I then told her, "That's because you don't look."
Later, she tried to provoke me by saying that she is "hegemonic" (I am not sure she knows what the word means, because there was no context for her to use it in the gym). I replied, "And I am a Libra." She was surprised and didn't know what to say. I moved on to continue my workout.
While I had my back turned I heard someone say, "She is brusque." Have we been so conditioned in this era of political correctness to not recognize a racist discourse when we hear one? "Brusque" and "racist" are two different words, yet perhaps in acquiescing to an inherent sense of collective guilt in the post-civil rights era, we are allowing some very hateful statements to propagate.
I am no conservative nativist, but this woman should have used better judgement. Because of her political views, she was asked to leave South Africa. She found a home in the US and a college graciously offered her a position for many years. It would be nice if she were a bit more respectful to her fellow citizens, especially following the revelations that the Boston Marathon bombers were Chechens who emigrated to the US. At least she could keep quite while we try to have a workout in the gym.
Later, she tried to provoke me by saying that she is "hegemonic" (I am not sure she knows what the word means, because there was no context for her to use it in the gym). I replied, "And I am a Libra." She was surprised and didn't know what to say. I moved on to continue my workout.
While I had my back turned I heard someone say, "She is brusque." Have we been so conditioned in this era of political correctness to not recognize a racist discourse when we hear one? "Brusque" and "racist" are two different words, yet perhaps in acquiescing to an inherent sense of collective guilt in the post-civil rights era, we are allowing some very hateful statements to propagate.
I am no conservative nativist, but this woman should have used better judgement. Because of her political views, she was asked to leave South Africa. She found a home in the US and a college graciously offered her a position for many years. It would be nice if she were a bit more respectful to her fellow citizens, especially following the revelations that the Boston Marathon bombers were Chechens who emigrated to the US. At least she could keep quite while we try to have a workout in the gym.
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