It's because I'm...

[Rapscallion]

I nearly forgot this. One of the guys at work is of Indian descent - his parents immigrated. He's a Sikh - wears a turban and plays a musical instrument with far too many syllables in its name for me to remember. He's a bit of a lecherous bugger, truth to tell, but he's one of the guys.

One of our more irritating habits is to put pictures of workers onto the tins of our own brand produce (this irritates me because by the time the tin hits the shelves someone in the picture has left due to failing their trial membership.... I mentioned to him that he was going to be on one tin that I saw when it came in for checking.

He looked at me. "Is it 'cos I is black?" he asked, imitating Ali G perfectly.

I stared back at him. "There's no safe answer to that and you know it!"

Rapscallion

[Dragon_Dreamer]

I am VERY used to being asked, "What the hell ARE you?" I've gotten it from friends, teachers, coworkers, customers, strangers, you name it, because I have an "exotic yet familiar" face, according to a friend, olive skin, and dark auburn hair that looks brown-black indoors.

I have three answers (Sometimes I'll give them a choice between the latter two):

* Evil: "Guess." I have gotten Asian, Native American, Spanish, Mexican, Latina, African, you name it.

* Long: English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, German, Italian, Northern Spain, Southern France, Norse, Swiss, Dutch, Danish, Italian, Romany, several other European countries, but mostly 1/4th White Russian/Polish/Ukrainian.

* Short: European B*tch.

It's even funnier when I tell them my (full) sister is pale and blonde. (So's our mother, but I never mention that. Mom's blue-eyed, too! )

[DGoddessChardonnay]

And if you only sold the case to Asian's you'd still be racist. Sooo...Sucky Customer, think of it not as "hatin' on a brother", think of it instead as "hatin' on a scammer"

Or something like that...

Heehee . . that brings back memories of working at the little WD store down the street.

Back when the manager who hired me was still running the store (aka Sexy) and the Woodman was co-manager, they encountered quite a few "brothers" shoplifting. Of course, Woodman would be accused of being racist (b/c he was white) and they'd go to Sexy (b/c he was black) using the line "You're a brother, ain't you?"

"Yeah, I'm a brother but just not the kind you're looking for," would be the reply. He'd either kick 'em out or call the cops, depending on how the situation was going.


So much for brotherly love, eh?

[Imogene]

Back on topic: a while back, a (black, female) customer told me "fuck you". For declining this generous offer, I was declared both gay *and* racist.

"No ma'am. I'm asexual, and currently dating a catgirl."
I've never understood the race card, really. Humans are one race. Personally, I'm melatoninally challenged, but I don't discriminate because of it.

[protege]

Most people are shocked though when I come in for an interview and I'm NOT Italian, since I have an Italian last name. I guess the thought that I married into an Italian family never entered their minds.

Most people assume that my last name is either German or Austrian. It really messes with them when they find out my dad's family originally came from Norway in the 1830s. It kinda takes out some of the impact of their "dumb Kraut" comments