When you see unexpected racism...
First of all I'd like to say I have enjoyed my time here. Going to be 5 years come January. I don't post much. The name is Pedro.
My story starts Saturday night in Dallas. I live in mesquite a suburb. My child, my dad and I went to a hispanic oriented store called the Rio Grande. We like their butcher shop. Tend to have menudo etc...
It was late, they were already starting to clean and we noticed a new worker, a black man. He greeted us in Spanish, and treated us with respect. Cut the meat exactly how I wanted it. I was impressed and happy.
This is where my story turns dark. As we're leaving the woman behind us tells him in Spanish that she doesn't want a mayate to help her. That word is a derogatory word used towards black man. You could see bewilderment in his face, and at the same time you could tell it was not the first time it had happened. My dad lost it and went off on the woman. I had to calm him. Other costumers came to the gentleman's defense and eventually people only wanted to be served by him.
Before leaving I said to him that I was so sorry he had to endure that. He said to me that he is simply trying to make an honest living. On the way home my dad was very agitated and eventually shed some tears. He told me something very profound at least to me. I came here to start a family and for the hope of a better life. I have achieved that and more, so I'll be damned if I'll let people ruin that for me or anyone else.
The reason I said this was unexpected is because I experienced this in my bubble. I leave you with this. We're all human.
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Thanks for the post.
K and R
We are hated for no reason except our color - we didn't enslave anyone.
Hug you dad. 
I've read your posts off and on for years. I think you're a fine person, and I'm sad that you have had to endure the racism you have described above.
Screw those haters, is all I have to say. You just keep on keepin' on! 
One would think as someone gets to know you without anything other than words on a screen, we would see a "break down" in hate as people realize how much they have in common with others who don't look or act like them. Bigotry against Americans of Asian descent is still quite prevalent, as I am sure you are aware, and is often overlooked by many. My husband is able to "pass" as straight, so he has had some 'interesting' reactions when they find out that his spouse is a man. Of course, it also allows him to hear some really homophobic shit they normally wouldn't say in front of someone they "suspected" was gay. I am Jewish, but "don't look it", so I have been privy to some rancid anti-Semitism.
You are right, bigotry sucks no matter what form or who it is against.
As a funny side note, when I was in college and for a few years after, I was fluent in several languages (not so much now, use it or you lose it). My friend and I were out shopping and speaking Spanish (me) and French (her). Both of us understand the other language so we often spoke to each other that way to practice. We both got told to "Learn English!" We both turned, and as if from a movie script, said simultaneously, "I speak English, dumbass." with our very deep Southern accents. Needless to say, he looked very confused and scampered off. Some people are simply threatened by the unknown and others...well, they are so conceited they think everyone not speaking a language they understand is talking about them! 
yeah, that's me
My girl friend (She is Japanese American as well) and I would go to a chat room speaking and practicing Japanese, and people there thought we were speaking it JUST SO we could talk about them behind their back, and for god sakes, WE DON'T EVEN KNOW THEM! We were booted another of times and told to get the hell out.
This website I go to, first a bit a history about it. Eight years ago, when it had just barely started, there were a lot of Anime clubs. Everyone it seemed, (White folks) had or used a Japanese anime name. For those who didn't know an Anime name, they would go to Japanese baby names website and look and make names up.
Back then, there were few if any Real Japanese on that website, other than Japanese American or Canadians. When the website started to get an international reputation, Real Japanese came on and were horrified to find so many White people with Japanese names, trying to pass themselves off as "Nihonjin" from Tokyo, yet their use of Japanese was either crappy or non existent. Many Real Japanese were so insulted, they would leave the website or have their own little chat rooms where only Nihongo was spoken.
I, myself found it odd that there were so many white people wanting to be apart of Japan. Many of them on their profile cards carried the flag of Japan, rather than the United States or Canada. Many of them told me they were fans of Japan, which is why they put the flag there, or that they didn't want people to know they were Americans.
The worst part, as I told one fellow, "You get to play Japanese all night long, but when you step out your door to go work you don't have to face people who will call you a "chink" because they are ignorant. You want to wear that face on line, but are not able to face hatred each day so you don't really know what its like to really be an Asian American. You just "Play" at it. You don't even face it on line either, being with your friends in their chat rooms.
When this girl found out I actually was a real Asian American, she shunned me because now I really was different. It was the kind of thing that really got so out of hand, I would tell them, ''hey if you are going to be that, at least learn the culture, learn the language and stop trying to come off as an Ignorant American trying to pretend you are something else.''
Carry it with you, always. In a good way.
