I don’t like to think that I am racially biased. But then I encounter someone from the local Undoing Racism program and I’m annoyed at myself. I like to think America has moved beyond its prejudices and we are indeed, the great melting pot. I like to think I’m above believing stereotypes and that I’m aware of the importance of respecting all cultures.
And then the Undoing Racism folks remind me that there are stereotypes that we consider almost without realizing. And that sadly, I don’t always remember that not everyone believes the same things I do.
It’s annoying. But it’s important.
I felt the same when I first saw the Unfair billboards in Duluth with a photo of a fairskinned person with words scribbled across his or her face, declaring “It’s hard to see racism if you’re white.”
At first I was annoyed and even a little bit angry. I wanted to tell the organizers of the campaign that I do understand racism. That I have been a victim of hostile racist remarks.
It was a long time ago, but it still hurts to think about it. It was in California, where we lived for awhile in the 1980s. I worked in a warehouse receiving area, unpacking, pricing, and preparing merchandise for the retail floor. It was a dirty, cold job, but what made it really horrible was a number of my co-workers.
There was a group of women from Samoa working there. And from my very first day, they set out to exclude me from their circle. And unfortunately, not just to exclude me, but to be downright rude. At first I was shocked. My Minnesota-nice upbringing did not prepare me for this. I tried befriending. I tried ignoring. I spent many afternoons crying in my car on the way home.
The ringleader was stocky little woman named Vivian. She would belittle and badger me in every way she could. Finally, one day I couldn’t take any more and I followed her to the ladies room to confront her. Of course I didn’t. When she glared angrily at me and asked what the hell I wanted, I broke down and cried and just asked, “Why don’t you like me?”
I was stunned to hear the answer. Vivian said she didn’t like me because I was white. I knew they called me the “haole girl” and knew that it meant white girl—the Samoan word is close enough to the term used on the old TV show Hawaii 5-0.
But I couldn’t believe she disliked me so much just because I was white. That she didn’t take into account anything else about me, because she was blinded by the fact that I was white.
I was very lucky that in addition to Vivian and her followers, there were some exceedingly kind people at the warehouse. I was blessed to get to know Komiko, a sweet woman from Japan. And there was Romeo, an older gentleman who would fire off comments in my defense—in Samoan—when the ladies got too nasty.
I was eventually able to win over a few of the Samoan women. They would still call me haole girl, but in a teasing way. But not Vivian. She never relented in her dislike.
I eventually got another job, but the memory of being treated so unkindly—for something over which I had absolutely no control—stuck with me. It was a good life lesson. It’s one I never received growing up in Minnesota, where I had never been a minority. I had never been judged by the color of my skin or hair or shape of my eyes.
So yes, I agree with the big billboards in Duluth declaring it’s hard to see racism when you’re white. Yes, there are white people who have been treated in a racist manner. But generally, it is a rare occurrence. As the billboard scribbles say, I’m lucky. I haven’t felt watched or judged—or disliked—because of my heritage since that encounter with Vivian all those years ago.
So I almost forget that we need things like the Undoing Racism program and Duluth’s Unfair campaign.
And then I heard the ridiculous news that an ESPN editor had used the word “chink” in a headline referring to basketball superstar Jeremy Lin. An exceptional player of Asian- American descent, Lin has been on a meteoric rise to fame. The talented New York Knicks player has been in the news constantly with silly headlines such as Linsanity, Linvasion, and Linderella Story.
It’s tough to come up with something new and clever. So when, the Knicks’ winning streak ended and Lin had an astonishing nine turnovers, an ESPN writer posted the headline A Chink in the Armor?
ESPN did the right thing. The post was pulled almost as soon as it went live. The editor was fired. ESPN apologized. It pledged to do better in the future.
Jeremy Lin has been incredibly gracious about the whole incident. In a television interview, he said you have to learn how to forgive. But sadly, he also said that this is not the first time he has heard the racial slur during his playing career.
We all need to keep working on undoing racism.
The people who are trying to make this world worse are not taking a day off. How can I? Light up the darkness.
Bob Marley
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