Thread by @GabbbarSingh

Morning 10am. We came out of JFK after a 16 hr long flight, to face something I have never ever.

1) A black man, well dressed, holding a coffee in hand, was just waiting for someone like me. He looked at my tired face “Where ju wanna go brother?” come along, he said he will charge me the same as an Uber, but he has a bigger car (a GMC SUV), my head was still foggy post a long flight, so I reluctantly said yes. $160 the app said. We agreed. I didn’t have to book. The app’s utility was to settle the cost. Fare enough.

My family & I lugged our luggage to the parking lot, while this guy was walking ahead, leading us, sipping coffee. We reached his car. A huge one. He offered no help to place the heavy luggage in the dicky. I meekly unloaded the bags “This is a self service nation, better do as the Romans” I thought while slowly absorbing this culture shock. We were soon on the way. I was still suspicious

2) The guy, a 60 yr old, was pretty talkative. Friendly yet stern. Wasn’t too accommodative of the tantrums of my toddler. This gave him a cue to narrate his own life, how he had 3 kids, one of them is studying medicine, and how he can produce one more, but the lady at home doesn’t agree. He laughed & expected us to join in the joke. I was busy noticing how bumpy the road was, Suddenly a pick-up truck swerved dangerously, and it Hit our car. It wasn’t just a brush, it was a proper hit. Both cars stopped. My guy was livid. He came out to assess the damage and litigate with the other driver. I had no clue what to do. A toddler, wife and me, with luggage, stranded. The other driver was Afro-American too, most likely driving under influence. Our guy called 911.

3) The 911 operator was pretty calm. Asked my guy to describe his location. He managed to said “X highway, Near this Exit” and it was understood. Then he asked if his vehicle can still move, and if there are injuries. We were fine, saved by the bulk of the car. So the driver said No. The operator then in a very professional Pulp Fiction Mr Fixer manner said “So as per protocol, as you can still move and there aren’t any injuries, No police will come, you guys just exchange your IDs and file a complaint on DMV portal”. I was a bit worried, if these two don’t cooperate, who will mediate. The other pick-up driver looked like someone who carries a gun in the glove compartment. Thankfully they were cooperative. And we were on our way after 10 mins. The truck driver, continued to drive rashly. I could smell weed.

You visit a country, find out about its crime, but also convince yourself these are outliers, and it will never happen to you, but when it does, you have no cue how to process. In US the only racism/rudeness you will face as an Indian is from the Blacks & Hispanics. Another incident happened at the Times Sq Subway station. That’s for some other day :)