I had a very interesting experience at the gas station this morning. After pulling up at the gas station, I got out of my car to go inside and there was a black man standing by the door. He kept asking me "where my man was at" and out of habit, I simply ignored him. Upon coming out of the gas station, the man was still there and continued to question me. I simply laughed the situation off, as this type of thing happens all the time, especially because I work as a bartender. However, there was a young white man, most likely of college age, that walked out of the gas station behind me. He was very offended by what the other man was saying to me. Although I don't necessarily think that he heard the conversation that the guy was trying to hold with me, he made a point to walk over to him and tell him to leave me alone and stop harassing me.
I think that the interesting part is that if the man questioning me had not been black, I don't think that the young white gentleman would have even paid any attention. Despite the fact that he didn't even necessarily know what was being said, simply saw the two of us and assumed that I was uncomfortable with the situation. Although I was somewhat aggravated by the fact that this guy would not leave me alone, I was also kind of frustrated at the fact that the white guy automatically assumed that he was bothering me. Any thoughts?
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This is very interesting, because I have heard this type of story from the other side of the debate. A black man once told me he would be afraid to help me if I had been attacked because the police might try to frame him for the crime, even convincing me that it was him...I think the white guy did it without thinking, but to us it clearly signaled something more
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