what the fuck?

This is some of the bullshit Stacey experienced in the last couple weeks.

She went to the Kroger grocery store next to Greenbriar Mall, on the south side of Atlanta. This is the part of town we have lived in for about ten years. She was in the parking lot, in her car, in front of the front doors of the store. A fellow in a pickup truck stopped in front of her and proceeded to get into a conversation with someone on the sidewalk. Stacey decided to go around the truck and when she did and was just about around the guy he accelerated into the back end of her car. Stacey stopped, got out of her car and looked at the guy and turned hers hands up as if to say “what the fuck?”. Well the guy driving the truck jumped out and the first thing out of his mouth was “you must have forgot where you are”, as if she was far from home in a place few white folks choose to go.

Then a couple days later she was just a block away from the same Kroger, near the Greenbriar Mall, stopped at red light when one of the Rev. Farrakhan’s disciples approached her and ask if she would like to buy a bean pie. No thanks Stacey told the guy and he asked her “are you serious?” She told him she didn’t want a pie. The guy got mad with Stacey and started to tell her how the black folks had suffered for years, had been oppressed. Wanted to know why she didn’t want to buy a bean pie. Stacey said she just didn’t want a bean pie, thank you very much. So the fella went to the cars on either side of Stacey and was turned down by each one. He told each person, thanks have a nice day. So as he walked towards Stacey’s car again he started a little dance and chanted Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama. When he got back near Stacey she asked him why he gave her such grief but told the two ladies who also didn’t want his pie, “thanks and have a nice day”? She said maybe she was for Obama as well, how did he know? He just danced off chanting Obama, oba……..

Then a few days later Stacey was working out with the Boot Camp class at her local gym. It’s early in the morning and it’s chilly. They are all outside running when Stacey hears someone shout “hey white girl ain’t you cold”. This was probably no big deal to Stacey, she has been going to this gym a long time and knows everyone and knew this lady intended no harm. But some of the other ladies quickly jumped up and said you can’t say that. They didn’t care if she was kidding, ya can’t say it, no way, no how. That was cool, and like I said the lady didn’t mean no harm, she just forgot Stacey’s name.

So everyone involved in each of these moments of, of, of what? I don’t even know how to phrase it. What is it? I just don’t know. But it’s a big ugly white elephant in the room and we gotta find a way to discuss it and not come off as racist. Everyone involved, except Stacey, was a black person.