unpleasant elevator encounters
I got into an elevator today (not in my office building). In it were me, a single man, and a man + woman couple who happened to be Chinese. So we’re all riding the elevator and the couple happened to exchange a couple of sentences in Chinese. When they exited, this man–thinking, I guess, that we must be compatriots since we were both white–said under his breath, “They oughta speak English.”
Me: “Pardon?”
Racist Nationalistic Guy: “They come over here from their brown country [N.B. Brown? They’re Chinese; if you wanna be correctly racist, it would “their yellow country” or maybe if you’ve got a political grudge “their red country”] and don’t learn to speak the language. Makes me mad.”
(Curiously, they had asked me upon entering which floor I wanted, which RNG should have heard although maybe his brain was too full of himself to take notice.)
Me: “… [stunned silence] … Um … I don’t feel that way about it. LOTS of people don’t feel that way.” Then the doors opened and I walked fast to get away from him.
He just stared, as though I had suddenly spouted off the theory of relativity out of a clear blue sky, or asked him to say hello to my tall rabbit friend, Harvey.
August 8th, 2008 at 10:53 am
“Bright red hair, pale complexion… yeah, she must be a racist like me. ” You were lucky your floor came up so quick.
August 11th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
I know, I was a little scared to say more. Small enclosed space, can’t get out, etc. All kinds of nutters around.
August 15th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Would he learn Chinese if he went over there? I din’t think so.
August 15th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Noel, so nice of you to visit! Yes I would agree with you. People like that can’t even be bothered to learn how to say please and thank you in another country’s language when visiting there. Unfortunately I have noticed the worst offenders of the “WE don’t have to bother with that” syndrome are fellow Americans.