Diseases

...so me, my roommate and my hallmate go out for sandwiches @ 3:30 in the morning. my hallmate split up with us because he wanted to go pick up some jerky. we went into the store, and placed my order on one of those computer mens. since i had a special request, i had to go up to the cook. i told the cook, "BBQ sauce, please?" she didn't respond, but i then continued by saying, "thank you very much." she looked at me and said, "EXCUSE ME?" I repeated my act of gratitude, and she replied, "excuse me that i'm a white woman, excuse me that my father worked hard." my alarm went off. i didn't even make a statement that would even incite such a comment. then the manager came because he heard shouting. even though i did nothing wrong, i felt like i was in trouble. i then talked with the manager and said that all i said was thank you, because not only do i understand that she was doing me a service in the middle of the night, i acknowledged the fact that she is a human being, and that all people should be acknowledged in those situations. he then told me that they had a great amount of drunk people in their store. i thought to myself, that's no excuse, but i digress. my roommate and i then got our food, and said, "thank you very much."

my hallmate was at the store waiting for me and my roommate. he was hanging out with these two dudes. i went inside to go get a bev, because i honestly didn't want to buy it in the other store after that whole fiasco (plus, their price was cheaper). my roommate said, "why do i feel like they're trying to OD?" i thought the same thing, but i didn't know whether or not it was me being influenced by society portraying two minorities in baggy clothing and hoodies as suspect. who exactly is granted the power to judge someone's character anyway? who can deem someone else at face value as good-natured, or up to no good?

after all, i was wearing a hoodie too....

after i bought my soda, we left the store, and told the guys to have a good night. i felt them following us, but i didn't know why. they asked my hallmate for something that he bought, i don't remember what it was tho, but then they were on their merry way. as we were coming back to campus we actually crossed face. weird.

everyone is obsessed with getting involved with things that are bigger than them. a group in my high school sold bracelets to raise money and awareness to the events in darfur. my college's soccer team went to africa to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS. it's not that i don't think that these actions are remarkable, its just that i don't see anyone flying into the parking lot of POLO to cure the sales associate of his symptoms: following me around the store, instead of asking me if i need assistance.

let's raise awareness for a disease that often gets glossed over: racism.

it pisses me off, because this virus doesn't have to spread the way that it is. fuck, it shouldn't even exist, especially in these levels of academia. it affects people lives. people's lives actually are affected by this. i mean, i'm not mad at the lady for spazzing at me. i'm pissed at her choice of actions, but it's not her fault. she didn't come out of the womb like that. either she was born and raised into that certain environment, or she was involved with an incident that has changed her opinions and beliefs. people actually got killed because of the racism virus. lynchings, shootings, rodney king and emmett till are some of the most noteworthy individuals affected by the sickness. i call racism a sickness because it is not a part of the original makeup of the human being, but rather, a mutation that has taken over mainstream ideologies.

all of these preconceived notions come from a level of misunderstanding. we all need to be accountable. no more racism. no more.


...on another note, i believe my boy Kadeem Cooper (UVA '10) is goinng to be on jeopardy next week, tuesday, may 5th. check your local listings and show some love.



Tea's Gone.