stupid racist comments during my insane work week

Ugh, this week, I’m working like my hair is on fire and in the last two days, I just heard stupid comments directed towards me like “ching ching chong” and “he-RO” and just this afternoon, “bok choy.”

The last one was delivered with a smile. I was stuck on the subway after pulling an all-nighter for work b/c no cab would go to Brooklyn, and just ran a meeting for 600 people, after getting reamed out for the lack of matzo at the breakfast table. (And when we finally got the matzo, no one ATE IT), so I was in no mood for bok choy man. In fact, all I did was turn to him and stare at him until he felt uncomfortable and moved away from me on the subway car. But seriously, people, “bok choy?” “Ching chong?” “He-Ro?” Am I invisible? Do I look like I care what you think? The only thing, i swear to god, that is keeping me going is “Stronger” by Kanye West. I’m like yelling the lyrics to myself when I listen to it “what doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger!” Thank you, Kanye.

8 Replies to “stupid racist comments during my insane work week”

  1. At customs at the airport, excited to be back to the US, the customs patrol guy looks at my US passport, looks at me, and then asks me, “Do you speak English?” Uh… why is he asking me that?? And of course, I didn’t have anything brilliant to say. Just said, Yes like an idiot. Ugh. But yeah, great to be back. You’re friggin’ brilliant for staring back at that bok choy guy. I wish I were brave like you.

  2. i’m so sick of it, that’s the only thing. i think i used to not respond to stuff b/c i felt scared on intimidated i think like remember those guys who invaded christine’s kareoke party? i totally didn’t say anything. but today was not the day to mess with me. i was yelling back at my boss and totally sleep-deprived.

    ugh, i’m sorry he said that. what an arse.

  3. It still amazes me that people say things like that. The next time someone says something like that I’m going to say: “Do you?”

  4. yeah, nk, i’m really sorry you had to deal with that bs. when people ask if i speak english, i just say “no, not a word” and walk away. you can say that, say sachy’s clever “do you”, you can also say “only when i’m awake.” i mean, it’s so stupid!!!

  5. Oh! I love “only when I’m awake” response. Afterwards (and always afterwards) I was thinking up sassier retorts like: “Oh why? is there a test?” The only reason why I think he might have asked me that was because I got yelled at for using my cell phone in the customs area and I wasn’t supposed to be. But still, it reminds me that west of New York, everyone still sees a non-english speaking/fresh off the boat immigrant/ foreigner when they see me. Woe is me.

  6. i know, they probably do see asians f.o.b. did you fly into jfk? when we came back from mexico, NOBODY spoke english in our line so that maybe the asians they’re used to? i told a co-worker the bok choy thing and she laughed. it’s an absurd comment but i was so hostile to the world in that moment it didn’t matter to me

  7. Sometimes it seems like there are more Asians in NYC than in Asia. Which is why I can’t believe that it’s such a novelty for anyone who lives here to see an Asian person that they have to make some inane, non-funny comment about it. I mean, do these people also make fried chicken cracks when they see black people?

    I guess I’m a freak for being shocked by this sort of thing. I’m just saying, that’s all.

  8. well, i have been in chinatown where the 16-year-olds don’t know english, at least the ones ringing up by food, and i was like, seriously? kids, i can understand if your grandparents are slow on the uptake but YOU, the youngsters, should totally speak english! you go to school here!

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