and i can't believe last... thursday? happened! what WAS that. glorious, is what.
went to grab my favourite chili, as a little lunch before my one and only class of the day. sat in front of the cafe for a bit, and pulled out my laptop, to read what the internet had to say. a Chinese Canadian girl, i knew through a friend sat to my right. we have waved appropriately to each other, but had been the length of it. she sat besides a brown girl, wearing high waisted pale denim, and a grey t-shirt, crop-top. i instantly noticed this. as i was peering at my screen, i overheard them discussing issues i never hear anyone discussing, outside of the internet and my own brain. the brown girl was incredibly caught up in her discussion, and i heard them discussing racial representation, inherent white privilege, and how difficult it is to explain that reality to even your closest, white friends.
eventually i involved myself, and passed on as many references as i could. they enjoyed this, and it seemed to delight the brown girl in particular. i discovered, later, that she identified as an Indian Muslim. and so, suddenly, sitting at those white tables, burst a spirited conversation about our racial anxieties. a "go ask alice" for coloured folks. the Chinese Canadian, the Indian Muslim Canadian, and the Culturally Muslim, Bengali Canadian. Girls. I should add, girls.
later in the conversation, a white, tom-boy, visibly women's studies student sat in the corner overhearing us as well, and began participating in the conversation. she was very understanding, and kept saying, "this is so awful, that this happens to you. i don't know anything about this! how could i. it's your lived reality."
"thank you!" we appreciatively shouted.
later, a Persian Canadian girl sat down in front of us, prepared to have her lunch. She spoke with a soft voice, but with determination. she too could not keep away from our discussion, and started to chime in on stories about getting stopped at the border, on numerous. occasions. the reality of what was going on back home. she said her grandmother kept flying back to see their Canadian family, just so she could bring food back home. food.
and oh, how we all had white friends! hahah, and we all were so clearly westernized! and the joys that come with that! and the pains. we all had a specific angle from which we were approaching the subject, and though we did not necessarily all agree on everything, we could agree when most things were just "not okay."
"oh god, liberal white people hate it when you use the 'R' word."
"I KNOW."
"you can be as liberal as you want, honey, but the colour of your skin is inherently, uncontrollably, and absolutely, a privilege. no, it may not be your fault, so we don't ask that you take blame, instead all we ask is that you recognize, that you can write all the prose you want about equality - but honey, honey, honey, it ain't. no. thang."
laughter.
we went our separate ways eventually, but oh the way we inherently knew, and clung to each other! i walked to a class, refreshed. looking forward to progress.
went to grab my favourite chili, as a little lunch before my one and only class of the day. sat in front of the cafe for a bit, and pulled out my laptop, to read what the internet had to say. a Chinese Canadian girl, i knew through a friend sat to my right. we have waved appropriately to each other, but had been the length of it. she sat besides a brown girl, wearing high waisted pale denim, and a grey t-shirt, crop-top. i instantly noticed this. as i was peering at my screen, i overheard them discussing issues i never hear anyone discussing, outside of the internet and my own brain. the brown girl was incredibly caught up in her discussion, and i heard them discussing racial representation, inherent white privilege, and how difficult it is to explain that reality to even your closest, white friends.
eventually i involved myself, and passed on as many references as i could. they enjoyed this, and it seemed to delight the brown girl in particular. i discovered, later, that she identified as an Indian Muslim. and so, suddenly, sitting at those white tables, burst a spirited conversation about our racial anxieties. a "go ask alice" for coloured folks. the Chinese Canadian, the Indian Muslim Canadian, and the Culturally Muslim, Bengali Canadian. Girls. I should add, girls.
later in the conversation, a white, tom-boy, visibly women's studies student sat in the corner overhearing us as well, and began participating in the conversation. she was very understanding, and kept saying, "this is so awful, that this happens to you. i don't know anything about this! how could i. it's your lived reality."
"thank you!" we appreciatively shouted.
later, a Persian Canadian girl sat down in front of us, prepared to have her lunch. She spoke with a soft voice, but with determination. she too could not keep away from our discussion, and started to chime in on stories about getting stopped at the border, on numerous. occasions. the reality of what was going on back home. she said her grandmother kept flying back to see their Canadian family, just so she could bring food back home. food.
and oh, how we all had white friends! hahah, and we all were so clearly westernized! and the joys that come with that! and the pains. we all had a specific angle from which we were approaching the subject, and though we did not necessarily all agree on everything, we could agree when most things were just "not okay."
"oh god, liberal white people hate it when you use the 'R' word."
"I KNOW."
"you can be as liberal as you want, honey, but the colour of your skin is inherently, uncontrollably, and absolutely, a privilege. no, it may not be your fault, so we don't ask that you take blame, instead all we ask is that you recognize, that you can write all the prose you want about equality - but honey, honey, honey, it ain't. no. thang."
laughter.
we went our separate ways eventually, but oh the way we inherently knew, and clung to each other! i walked to a class, refreshed. looking forward to progress.
No comments:
Post a Comment