By Rick Garcia
At a grocer, a thirty-something black woman stopped in to get a couple of cartons of orange juice and a tray of baked goods. What is not known is she’s an Executive Director of a nonprofit and was on her way to her staff meeting. The woman went to the checkout line where the clerk, a young white woman politely asked, “Will you be using your EBT Bridge Card today?”
The customer was taken back and paused for a moment. Rather than to give her the riot act or calling her out to the carpet on her ignorance, the black women sweetly replied, “I’m sorry I do not own an EBT Card. Will you accept my Visa Platinum?”
A young Hispanic man walked into the Human Services Building during the busiest morning looking for the location of a meeting room to pick up some documents for his client. What is not known is that he’s an Attorney who happens to be wearing jeans and t-shirt because it’s his day off.
As he approached the front window, a staff clerk accosted and scolded him to go to the end of the line have his forms ready and he will be assisted accordingly.
These stories happen every day whether we choose to believe or discount. No matter how strong your convictions are against these negative infractions or how well one is versed or learned in equality …it’s just human nature. Part of that hidden primordial instinct we’ve inherited since the dawn of mankind.
The examples I’ve shared illustrate a double-dose of prejudice – Racism and Class. The latter is more prevalent in our society as the income gap widens and the traditional middle-class spread thin. Working in the nonprofit sector, I’ve seen an amplified need for human services for those who are truly on the tipping scale between independent stability and a recipient client of the State.
As I scan the public places, my self-intuitive power of perception can’t help but notice the body language, tone, mannerisms and mild neglect that some people inflict on those from a different socio-economic class. I see this in many dining and commercial establishments – particularly in affluent areas where low-income may not frequent.
A few years back when I did contract work at an Indianapolis suburb, I became an unwilling participant one Saturday morning when I rolled out of bed in faded sweats, and a baseball cap covering my ratty hair to fetch a box of bagels. Standing silently in line, I was passed over twice by the clerk. Looking around, I noticed I was not the only dumpy looking early riser, but the only person of color in the place. This treatment was not typical, but certainly did expose me to a sad, raw reality of the power of perception.
On the flip side to this story, there are scores of people out there who possess selfless passion – from our local pastor, teacher, social and health provider. People should take a lesson from these folks. More to the point, until you have positively engaged or encounter someone, make no assumptions on the appearance of a person. You would be surprised what a simple smile can do. Who knows? That ratty, odd person you saw could be an emergency room nurse, a loving parent or an eccentric millionaire!
Rick Garcia, a nonprofit executive, a civil rights advocate, blogger and a contributing writer for The New Citizens Press can be reached at rrgarcianrg@gmail.com
This was printed in the January 13, 2013 – January 26, 2013 Edition
