The View from a Drawbridge

Tag: prejudice

  • What Do You Do?

    Americans sometimes shock people from other countries by asking them what they do for a living. In many places this is considered rude. Here, it’s almost as if you can’t really decide what to think about a person until you know what’s on their resume. In Seattle, I often hesitate to tell people I’m a…

  • On Being Hated

    The other day I had to go down to the south end of my drawbridge to do some maintenance. During rush hour, that involves walking down to the traffic light and crossing the road at the crosswalk. On this particular day there was a homeless woman sitting beside the crosswalk button. When I approached, she…

  • Wisdom about Refugees

    As hard as this is to believe, sometimes Facebook is the source of great wisdom. Today I saw this post, from a woman named Lorelle Saxena. It was so beautifully written and brilliantly explained that I had to share it with all of you. I attempted to contact Lorelle to get permission to post it…

  • “No, it’s because you’re a jerk.”

    A few years ago, I was downtown in a large crowd of people, anticipating a huge fireworks display. The weather was mild, and everyone seemed to be in a festive mood. One guy was a little too festive. Extremely intoxicated, he started screaming and cursing at his family. And this was a big guy. Everyone…

  • My Truth About Mexico

    In my sophomore year in college, I had the great good fortune to study abroad in Guanajuato, Mexico. I think everyone should study abroad at some point. It expands your worldview. And based on commentary in recent years, it’s painfully clear that America’s worldview needs expanding, especially in terms of our neighbor to the south.…

  • New Racism

    There aren’t that many indigenous people left in Northeast Florida, so you don’t really hear the topic come up there much at all. Don’t get me wrong. Racism is alive and thriving in the area, unfortunately, but the focus is on other minorities. Here in Seattle I’ve been shocked on several occasions to hear otherwise…

  • The Judgment Trend

    Lately I’ve seen a lot of stories about people who try to force their beliefs on others by attempting to punish them in some way. People leaving nasty notes instead of tips, saying they can’t tip someone because they don’t approve of their lifestyle, or leaving them a religious tract instead of a tip. Yeah,…

  • The Plight of Haitian-Dominicans

    It’s a small island. You’d think Haitians and Dominicans would have learned to get along by now. Not so much. In May, the Dominican Republic ruled that if you were born of Haitian parents any time after 1929 (which means, basically, all of them) you would be stripped of your Dominican citizenship and deported. Never…

  • Could we give Black Men a Break, Please?

    One of my coworkers had to drive to work the other day with a shattered passenger side window, courtesy of his son and a baseball. Kids will be kids. He had only been at work on the bridge for a few hours when he got a phone call from the police, asking him to come…

  • “It’s Because I’m Black!”

    One time I was at the front of the line at my grocery store, making my week’s purchases. Next in line was a lady with a small child, and she had a full cart as well. Behind her stood a lady with just two items. That lady said to me, “Excuse me, would you mind…