Racism

Racism, unfortunately, is an ongoing issue and continues to affect everyone around the world. No matter what your ethnic background or skin color consist of, anyone can be a victim of racism.

My experience

 About two weeks ago, my boyfriend and I went out to eat at a local restaurant where we often visit. The food is delicious and the restaurant owners and workers are always nice to everyone. We are usually the only blacks to come and sit in the restaurant. As we walked passed a Caucasian male and female's table to pay our dinner, I heard the man say quickly, "move your purse, you know they like to steal," she instantly moved it. I was shocked and offended by the comment. The comments were intentional and invalidated my identity based on my skin color. The hidden message to me was that the people of my race are criminals. I was a little angry but saddened when I realized I was a target. I noticed several other people walked by their table and she never once grabbed her purse at those times. 

After experiencing this, I felt marginalized and became aware of the fact that discrimination, prejudice, and stereotypes can affect anyone. I am also beginning to feel that I do not desire to return to the restaurant but I'm sure I will eventually. I have found that this can leave an individual or group feeling belittled and not worthy. I believe that it is unfair and unnecessary to stereotype and discriminate anyone. 

To my Colleagues;

Would you have confronted the customer about the comments or just walked away from it like I did? Does confronting someone or explaining to someone about the hurt they have caused resolves anything?