Saturday, June 16, 2007

Can You Hear Me Stereotyping Now?

I was on the phone last night with my mother when I went through an area with a weak cell phone signal. She was cutting in and out, so when I finally heard her voice come through strong again, I told her I had to call her back.

I dialed her number a few minutes later and when she answered, I explained the reason I had to get off the phone was because we were in a bad area.

"A bad area?"

"Yeah. I had to hang up; it was a bad area."

"Ohhhh. You're in a black neighborhood?" she asked.

"No, ma, we aren't in a "black" neighborhood. We're in Texas."

"Oh, so it was a Mexican area?"

"MOM." I said emphatically, to get her attention. "It wasn't a bad neighborhood," I explained, "We were in a bad area for the cell phone. I didn't have a signal. I couldn't hear you."

"Oh." Then silence.

All of a sudden my reception was so good, I could have heard a pin drop.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOL, that is so funny, poor Toni.
Greggie

Anonymous said...

too funny!

Anocsanamun said...

I'm spanish - and you have no idea how, "IS HE BLACK???" has been ensued with deafening silence. That's myt grandmother's favorite phrase... And she lets the word "black" linger... My friend Maria hates it when people say the neighborhood is "coming up" because "white people" have moved in. I find myself doing it to - and with a tan I am as minority looking as they come. It's not meant to be mean... you live what you learn.

Anonymous said...

"You live what you learn", what a beautiful statement!

So who taught you Salena?
That person passed on the best of herself and she did great!