Close Reading

I went into a convenience store and the owners (Chinese) followed me around the store as I look for snacks and went to the back for drinks.. I was been shadowed! I told them that why she- because one followed me- was shadowing me? She gave me a smile.. sometimes I feel they pretend that dont understand a word of English, but actions speak louder than words. It was obvious, they thought i was gonna steal something... Now, tell me.. Does that make them racists too? I think so! I didnt buy anything.. but I gave them an earful for that. I have seen how they also keep an eye on Black people. Later, these same people say that THEY are the ones facing racism.

As a Mexican American I have faced all types of racism from people of different races, including my own. I lived in Mexico for a while when I was young and would get bullied by kids who knew I was born in the U.S. Teachers also treated me different; some treated me worse than they treated the other kids, and others favored me because I was American. When I moved to Philadelphia I attended a school that was predominantly black and asian. I was the only hispanic in my class. At the time Spanish was my main language and my English was “rusty,” which led to constant bullying from classmates. They would call me “dookie face,” tell me to “go back to my country,” and even had some girls put gum on my hair. I would cry every day. I later on moved to Chicago to an area that was mostly hispanic, and that didn’t stop the bullying, either. After I finally refined my English, I no longer wanted to speak Spanish unless it was to my parents. Yes, I guess the constant bullying pushed me to feel like I had to separate myself from my hispanic heritage. When my hispanic classmates spoke to me in Spanish I only responded in English, which would make them mad and they would think that I thought I was “better than them.” Anyway, that was long ago and now as an adult I can reflect on these things so that I don’t make the same mistakes. I get along with everyone and the only thing that changes how I feel about someone is their character, not their appearance.

When I was in college they had tested people and found that if a woman was a writer they found out that there was a basis against women writers. They thought that women could not write as well as men, which didn't make any sense. What about Agatha Christie? She is considered one of the best women mystery writers of all time. I read her books when I was in my teens and twenties. There were many other women mystery writers, too many too name here. I feel sorry for the people who are on the receiving end of racism. My late husband was Creole. I hope we work past these attitudes some day.

Bring on more sad stories so people will think twice about coming to USA/Canada. By the way $15000 in savings? WTF that is more money than i have in savings. WTF is going on here. This is a simple case of economic migrant who thought he could keep all his money and buy a house in 5 years and get shit free. Pfft Wake up\nOww and by the way I have been working over seas for years and it ended my marriage and i was lonely too. These people think we are Willy Wonka and thinking they have a golden ticket. Meanwhile my mom a first/ second Gen Canadian family can't afford Hydro. She does not get shit from government. Tired of these pathetic sad stories. Cry me a river.

Regarding the girl who received less while wearing the veil than when wearing nothing/ a hijab: Don't get me wrong the things some poeple said to her were horrible, but i think its just natural that someone would be more willing to donate to someone whose face is clearly visible as they could be more sympathetic towards them based on their expressions and such. After all, would you donate to someone who was wearing a hockey mask or a balaclava? (I'm not implying that these are in any way the same, but remember that the Qaran does not state that they have to wear a full veil, just some food for thought). Some may argue that this intrudes on basic human facial expressions to one another.) Not only can people feel uneasy when they see someone in a burqa, but it can also be dangerous to the very person underneath it. The burqa isolates women from others and can hide evidence of abuse or assault. It advocates segregation of muslim women in public, which is blatant discrimination within itself, whichever way you look at it!!!