Nasty bigot at Subway

[ForestDragon]

The sad thing is that it seems to keep going - the racist parents teach their kids to be racists.... and so on. Not that I'm a big fan of the musical "South Pacific" (South Pathetic ) but they have a song in there called "You have to be carefully taught" - about how people aren't prejudice naturally - they have to be taught to be that way....... it's just sad we haven't quite come up w/a way to stop the "cycle" - although if we could stop the cycle of anything.... (racism, prejudice, violence, etc) that would be great.

If memory serves, the song went as follows:

You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught.

My grandmother (father's mother), whatever other qualities she may've had, was unfortunately highly bigoted about Mexicans and blacks. When I was very young - measured in months if not weeks - and she said something poisonous about one or the other group around my brother and me, my parents told her that if she could not keep her opinions to herself, she could stay home; their kids were not going to be taught that crap. Well, she took it to heart and did well enough that I never had a clue that she was racist until my parents told me after her death. It was interesting, amusing even, to think how horrified she must have been to see my father get a big hug from a black woman and several gay women at his retirement party, and the several times I asked a female friend of obvious mixed ancestry to Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

This is true. When I was very little, I had no idea there was more than one "race" of humans. There were pale, blonde girls in my kindergarten class, and I was dark haired and a little swarthy. There was one boy who was chocolate colored, with black hair, shy eyes, and exotic features. He always wore a suit and had impeccable manners.

I had the biggest crush on him.

Of course, this was the early 70's, and my parents were a little disturbed that I was sweet on the black boy in my class. I couldn't figure out why he was different.

Especially when you consider my own father was about the same color. My mother is ivory skinned, my father is the color of coffee. I just thought he was the same sort of person the kid in my class was, i.e. just a dark skinned guy. Okay, so some swarthy guys are okay and some aren't.

As an adult, I talked to my sister about this phenomenon. She admitted she always thought Dad was an "Ernie"....like she thought Mom was a "Bert." She didn't realize there was a difference, either. In all honesty, I'm not entirely convinced there is. But I also know how it is.

How cool would it be if we didn't learn otherwise?

[MystyGlyttyr]

I do admit that I do occaisionally note things, like "Huh, I'm the only white girl sitting at this table." But then it gets shifted out in favor of "I wonder what Wolverine and Victoria's baby would look like..."

It always threw me a little when people would ask for D, (who happens to be the only black reporter in the newsroom) and I would say "Third desk back on the right," and they immediately respond with "The black lady?" "...um, well, if she's sitting at the third desk back on the right, then, yes?"

Then again, one of our reporters is a little person, and whenever I tell them "last desk on the left" they always come back with "the...short man?" But then when I tell them "last desk on the right" they never say "Oh, the average-looking brunette in yellow?"

I still don't understand why they feel the need to clarify the black woman and the short guy but never any of the other reporters? They could say "Oh, the one in the pink dress?" or "Oh, the one with the long beard?" But they never do...

Do they think I don't NOTICE? Okay, she's black and he's short...and she's got a lazy eye and he's dressed in a bad suit from the 40's, and that one has a limp and this one has a beret and sunglasses on. No one ever asks about that stuff...and no offense, but I think asking why a 6'7" man is walking around in a beret and sunglasses is a lot more interesting than "this one has a deeper tan than me".

[Broomjockey]

I gotta add, my best friend growing up had an older sister, who happened to be adopted. I never knew she was adopted, and it came as a great shock to me when I found out at 16. I gotta admit though, it shouldn't have been such a shock, seeing as she was black, and the rest of the family was white.

I just grew up with her always around, as part of that family, so it never occured to me that she was "different," she was just family of my best friend!

[ladodger34]

No, I saw the commercial myself (I think it was Subway, small sandwich)--I just couldn't believe they'd use a standard so vague as "raining" as we often get sprinkles as opposed to thunderstorms.

From what I remember, there was some standard for what counted as rain, but I'm not sure what it was.

As it stands, it is the typical "free" subway deal. Buy a medium sized drink and a 6-inch sub, get a 6-inch sub for free. It's such a common deal (on coupons, value-saver cards, etc) that I doubt they even argue over it.

[kelly]

In Subway Today

I didn't actually see an SC in Subway today but I sure got an idea of the kind they get there!

The girl behind the counter was making my sandwich and I said no, I didn't want any salt or pepper, but she put pepper on anyway. Me and the manager (on the till) both said at the same time (quite nicely, I thought!), actually that was 'no'. She immediately looked like she was going to cry and offered to make me another one- I could just tell that so many other people had screamed at her for that kind of little mistake.

Being a big fan of this site and knowing how to behave in a store (!!), I just said it was fine and not to worry about it. I mean, a little pepper's not going to kill me, right? And, to apologise, the manager gave me a free drink!

[skeptic53]

Hmmmm... I wonder if Subway will have a BOGO promotion here in Seattle: "Buy one, get one free if the sun shines!"

Off topic: Do UK weather forecasters use the term "sunbreak"? Here in the soggy Northwest it's in many forecasts. It means a few minutes of very localized sunshine when a gap in the clouds passes overhead. People move here from California and have no idea what the forecaster is talking about...

[AFpheonix]

It's finally raining a little here in Portland. I kind of missed it, really. I don't do these stinking hot summers like we've been getting lately.

[excuse me??]

Walmart is a good location for a Subway... but unfortunatley Walmart doesn't just attract bargan hunters.. but some of society's lowest, rudist, trash.

Some of the niceist people shop there, but you never know when you will run into a customer who is a real "mental case"... (but as retail workers we usually can spot them)

These SC's can't drive eather.. and after backing up (with out even looking) into another car.. they'll just drive away.

[Rapscallion]

I keep seeing this thread title and wondering if there's a nice bigot anywhere...

Rapscallion

[Broomjockey]

I keep seeing this thread title and wondering if there's a nice bigot anywhere...

Rapscallion

And with that, I imagine some granny passing a $20 to a black kid helping with her groceries, along with the comment "Now don't spend it all on crack, use it for something healthy!"

*Please don't hurt me for that *

[Imogene]

Being a big fan of this site and knowing how to behave in a store (!!), I just said it was fine and not to worry about it. I mean, a little pepper's not going to kill me, right? And, to apologise, the manager gave me a free drink!

Heh, one morning (well, almost noon by that point) I was on my way into class. And, as I was starving, I stopped into the Subway on the way. Apparently, I was one of their first customers for the day.

W: How are you today?
M: Fine, thank you, and yourself?
W: Not too bad. What can I get for you?
M: I'll have a 6 inch seafood on Monterey Cheddar.
W: *turns around, checks the bread oven* I'm sorry, it looks like we don't have any Monterey Cheddar baked up just yet. I mean, we have some in, but it'll be a little while before it's cooked. Would you like a free cookie for the trouble.
M: *blink, blink* Um, no thanks, I'll just get it on whole wheat instead.
Transaction continued apace, and toward the end, this happened:
M: May I have that toasted please?
W: Seafood, toasted?
M: Yes, it's actually very tasty, for some odd reason.
W: Okay... *and tries to cook it, sadly, the oven wasn't hot enough, apparently, so he had to cook it again, and it still didn't cook, so, into the oven again* I'm so sorry about that, here, have a free soda while we wait for this thing to heat up.
M: Okay... *take the cup he offered me, and turns around to grab cherry coke, which comes out of the machine the color of really weak tea, and I do mean extremely weak. It was hardly even brown, instead, it was mostly the carbonated part, with a little tiny bit of syrup thrown in, it was so thin you could see the bottom of the cup* I think your cherry coke needs more syrup. *show the guy my cup*
W: Man, it's just not your day, is it? Are you sure you don't want a cookie for all this?
M: No, I don't eat cookies so much anymore, thanks though. *I poured out the water and grabbed Mountain Dew, I think, while I waited another three minutes (Oooo! Big deal! I was an hour early for class anyway) for my sub to cook*

[rvdammit]

It's finally raining a little here in Portland. I kind of missed it, really. I don't do these stinking hot summers like we've been getting lately.

There are periods in Portland when it doesn't rain

(I'll admit all my visits to Portland have been at the beginning of November)

[rvdammit]

From what I remember, there was some standard for what counted as rain, but I'm not sure what it was.

I think it has to do with wetting the entire ground surface, as opposed to the patches of wet and dry you get with a shower.

[AFpheonix]

There are periods in Portland when it doesn't rain

(I'll admit all my visits to Portland have been at the beginning of November)

Summers here have been getting stinking hot lately, and it was very sunny all of October, although it got really cold overnight.
It's monsooning now, though, and we have several storms coming on the heels of this one....