My poor baby had her first taste of that blatant, in-your-face, so-cold-it-left-you-shivering racism yesterday...which was ironic, since it has been ridiculously cold in our neck of the woods for a few days now (she lives in Boston). My baby is my best friend, Amaka, and she called me crying yesterday while I was trying to pay for my groceries. She told me she had been trying to dig her car out of the snow and ice for an hour, without tools, and wasn't making any headway. Her hands were cracked and bleeding, and no one was offering to help her. It was at this point that a white lady came out of her house, walked over to her car and prepared to tackle the same problem that Amaka was having. No sooner had she begun kicking away at the ice that pinned her tyres to the road than four white men pulled over and helped push her car out of the snow. My darling girl was watching all this, and patiently waiting for a chance to ask for help, though she was desperate, cold and late for work already.
After the other lady thanked her rescuers and went off on her merry way, Amaka walked up to those bastards and politely asked if they could please help her as well. It wasn't even so much that they refused to help her, it was the way in which they did it. They never even responded to her. They just entered their vehicles and drove off! I was shocked to hear it, so I can only imagine how shocked she was to experience it, and how insulted. There's a certain helplessness I associate with rejection by complete strangers that fills me with so much rage! And this girl is like my other half; it was so painful to me that I couldn't be there to help her and injure one or two people on her behalf.
What really gets to me, though, is that those people are walking around thinking of themselves as good Samaritans, when they would treat a fellow human being in obvious need with so much disregard. She had to sit in her car and wait for AAA, when there were able-bodied men around, who were clearly willing to help someone - just not her. I don't even know how to finish this, or what else to say. I'm so angry!
15 comments:
I pity the men, they live sad lives. They are enslaved and do not realize it.
How sad is that?
Well she needs to suck it up. That was nothing. I understand she felt helpless but you don't need men to do anything. Wasn't that the message of the 90s'. Remember WHAT A MAN CAN DO A WOMAN CAN DO BETTER. SO LEARN TO SHOVEL YOU OWN SNOW.
Anyways, you don't know if they ignored her because her breath was kicking or something. Lol... I'm just trying to make light of an awful situation but understand that you are an omo Naija. You knew where you're from and where your ancestors were from. People can only belittle you when you let them. Peace.
wow
that is really sad! i cannot believe they did what they did. nawa o. in this 2007, u'd think people have out grown such pettiness but i guess not.
nawa o
wow, dats sad and so mean, ild have just started crying
wtf is Anonymous talking about?!?! That was a horrible thing they did and should not be made light of for any reason... I really do pity those men cos they'll be surprised when they'll be on the verge of ***** and nobody would be willing to help them... Karma's a bitch!!! I mean how could they... I'm angry on her behalf too
This is scary! I would be angry on her behalf myself, but I fear it would be a waste of my time. These people would never cease to be racist and the really true thing about it is that there's no legal punishment for that kind of open hostility.
Tell your girl to take it her stride and not let them get her down however petty they may be. Ciao!
mami i hope you're alright...
heya.. wow that is really sad. unfortunate that kanye seems to be right about the fact that 'racism's still alive,they jus be concealing it...'
ok aside from that i just wanted to say i've misssssssssssssssed reading your blog, you'll always be an amazing writer and you had me in stitches through those... ...
ok i'm done. feels good, this blogging thing!
@jadedkiss
Damn that was my comment! 'racism still alive!' Lol.
Shame about ur friend, tell her to keep her head up its nuffink, oneday they'll get their's didnt they watch Crash!
How Cruel!!! The irony is that any of them could be a guy on the box being interviewed about humane treatment of other human beings and they'll develop a righteous stance about it.
this isn't even funny!!! I don't even know who to be sorrier for.
Thanks for dropping by my space, really appreciate it, and I've responded to both...:D
Tell Amaka to take heart that na so dem be. Yeye people.
When I tell people back home that life in the West is not what people make it to be, and that on the average white people don't like us, they think that I am just mouthing.
One person actually told me that it was because I didn't want him to come...
chxta: LOL...that doesn't surprise me. i've stopped telling nigerians not to come to america; they say experience is the best teacher, and who are we to refuse someone an education? when they leave their comparatively cushy jobs to come and drive taxi for 15 years, they will stop arguing for the joys of living in the West.
Looks like we have the same disease, you and I...
I have course work to prepare for inspection, and here I am on blogger...
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