Cab Driver: "Oh, he's letting us go first. Thanks, fella, that's very white of you."
Me: "Play that one back for me again and 'splain how it's not racist."
Him: "Um...um...I didn't expect a white person to let me cross?"
Me: Nope. Nice try though. (a thread)
Me: "Play that one back for me again and 'splain how it's not racist."
Him: "Um...um...I didn't expect a white person to let me cross?"
Me: Nope. Nice try though. (a thread)
This particular driver was actually funny. His cab was clean, and he did the 4 hours each way trip over two days without complaint. He was careful about my allergies. Those are all good things.
But when he picked me up this morning, he said "I told Dispatch "You know, I thought that lady was white. She's a Jew! And boy, will she tell you to watch your mouth! I gotta be careful!"
From Facebook, he's learned that nobody ever went to the moon, and that Trudeau outlawed assigning gender to babies at birth, and other assorted "facts".
Surprising my husband, who's seen me annihilate people before (metaphorically speaking), I remained calm throughout. And that's because K actually was a nice guy.
It was kind of wild, spending 8 hours the last two days in a van with this man who would spout some racist/transphobic/conspiracy-theory stuff, and then I'd laugh, and speak truth. And he listened!
"Now that I know better, I do better" - he really appreciated that Maya Angelou quote. "That's a good one!" he said, "I'm gonna remember that."
Global warming isn't real! We shouldn't pay carbon tax! That Greta girl is just reading nonsense off a card!
But when I asked if he was willing to stake his grandchildren's future on that, he grew thoughtful.
But when I asked if he was willing to stake his grandchildren's future on that, he grew thoughtful.
Not gonna lie, that's the longest stretch I've spent with someone who believes that much differently than I do for a really long time.
But K is a good man. He loves his wife, his kids, his grandkids.
But K is a good man. He loves his wife, his kids, his grandkids.
And I'd like to think that the next time "That's very white of you" is about to fall out of his mouth, he's gonna remember the "Jew lady" who taught him it wasn't kind, and he's going to say something nicer.
