Saturday, December 10

All Shapes And Sizes

On the way home from the film today I noticed a smartly dressed woman muttering under her breath as I got on the Eastbound Jubilee Line train that she was already using. I thought she had given me eyes too, but I put that down to my inherent paranoia.

But then her stop came and with it even more mutterings, all the time becoming more coherent. "... Come into our country and freeload...". Of course, I took that as challenge; she was looking for a fight and while everyone else tried their hardest to avoid eye contact with our resident racist, I tried to get her attention.

I got it eventually. "You do realise I probably pay more tax than you do right?" I asserted. "I very much doubt that" she retorted. "No, really I do. How much do you earn?". "Erm. Look, just go back, ok?". "Have a nice day now" I offered as the doors closed, not bothering to explain I was going home to East London.

Of course I looked around the (majority non-white) carriage expecting the response that such a hero deserves, but instead all I got were blank faces. It seemed that most of my comrades didn't even notice what had happened. Still, I must admit I was taken aback slightly... My own prejudice of what a racist should look and act like was blown into the dust today.

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