A recent night out with friends was ruined after comments made from a young Caucasian man in Madison.
Let me tell you more...
Chia, B2 and Susan are three of my closest friends. They are girls I've known for nearly 10 years. We had the same group of friends, we had similar classes in high school, we were part of the same after-school programs, and we are all Hmong. Even when we went off to separate colleges, we still kept in touch. Now that we're out in the working world, nothing has changed... we still call, we still go out and we are still are there for each other during those tough times.
Recently, the girls and I decided we desperately needed to take a weekend getaway trip. Chia volunteered to pack B2 and Susan into her new hybrid vehicle and drive from St. Paul to Wausau to pick me up. After that, we headed south to Madison. Of course, flooded roadways and detours made our "what would have been a two hour trip" into an "oh my gosh... it's been four hours" adventure. Nonetheless, we arrived at our friends' Madison apartment at 2 a.m. By that time, it was already too late to go out so we slept and made plans for the next night.
ALL RIGHT, HERE'S WHAT DAMAGED A PERFECTLY PLANNED EVENING FOR US.
Susan, Chia, B2 and I along with four other Hmong girls we knew in Madison decided to get dolled up -- the hair, make-up, outfits -- the whole works. We were excited to be in a different city, meet new people and get our minds off of work and for some of us, school.
We ended up waiting in line outside at a bar downtown near the university. The place seemed cool and casual, hence the long lines to get in. We didn't mind. We heard good reviews and wanted to see what was all the rave. As we inched closer to the entrance/exit... a mid-20's Caucasian man led his group of loud and seemingly intoxicated friends out the exit door. This man apparently didn't want to exit the bar to his left like all the other patrons do when they leave, he walked right into our line of people interested in going in. He stuck out his arms straight ahead of him and made an arrow-shape with his hands. He continued to move the girls and I out of the way to make room for him and his group of friends.
Then he said loud and clear, "I'M LOOKING FOR AMERICA."
Meanwhile, I was still chatting with a friend, so I really had to let that statement soak in. I thought, "Did he really just say that to us?" I took a look at his group of friends, yep, all Caucasian. I looked inside through the see-through glass windows, yep, all Caucasian. Did a group of educated, successful and beautiful young Hmong women really stick out like a sore thumb? And was our presence so offensive he needed to address his dislike for our "kind" with that racist comment? I just didn't think so. And I hope you don't either. I hope when you're reading this that you're just as appalled as I am. I hope you know that a statement like that to any race/any person would hurt.
So you must asking, what did we do?
I once learned... THE BEST REVENGE IS *NO* REVENGE AT ALL.
I kept that in mind, while I suppressed other thoughts and words from coming out of my mouth.
The girls and I exchanged looks, but none of us said anything. We didn't want it to ruin our night, but the damage was done.
Would you have said something? If so, would it have been worth it to speak your mind to a group of intoxicated individuals?
Send me your thoughts about this and if you've ever been a victim of racism, regardless which race you belong to?
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