...And then it happened to me
 |
| Jennifer’s backside (April 22, 2017) |
In 2017, on an ordinary day, I
experienced “it” firsthand.
As that April day
was cold and raw, I wore a hoodie and mittens.
Finishing up my
walk, I was checking my phone when I heard an angry voice behind me:
“Hello? Hello?
Can I help you with something?”
At first, I
ignored it – he couldn’t possibly be speaking to me. I didn’t know him, and he
had no reason to speak to me like that.
Again, he yelled,
“I said, ‘Can I help you with something? Hello?’”
Confused, I
turned around, and said, “No, I’m fine.”
A young white man
– maybe mid-20’s – in shorts and a t-shirt, stopped short, red-faced. Without a
word, he slunk away.
Why this happened
didn’t hit me until I was about two blocks away.
Yes, this is what
it’s like being white in America –
On a visceral
level, we just don’t get what African Americans and other minorities experience
every day.
________________
“...And then it happened to me” is copyright 2017 by Jennifer Semple Siegel and may not be reposted or reprinted without permission from the author.
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