Angry Monday
Last night I wasn't doing anything particularly exciting, except that my friend and I were walking out of a Vietnamese restaurant.
This man was standing outside, with his coffee resting on the restaurant sign out on the sidewalk. To me and my friend (who is also Asian American), he says, "I appreciate Asian beauty."
And we walked away, dumbfounded.
I really wish I had had the nerve to say, "And we don't appreciate racist sexist remarks."
But I didn't. And now, here I am pondering whether it would have helped me feel better if I said something. And he probably feels good about himself that he told some Asian women that he appreciated our beauty. What is wrong with this picture?
I don't think I've ever walked up to someone and told them that I appreciated something about them. Based on NOTHING. Should I have told him that I appreciate the racist heterosexist patriarchal world that I live in? (Oh wait, I don't.)
Who really thinks that that's an appropriate thing to say? To complete strangers?
Or maybe I should have told him that I'm not actually beautiful, that this is something that has been social constructed by the media.
Or maybe I should have told him that I appreciate ignorant white men because they provide so much fodder for my life, my blog, and my work?
Sigh. Happy Monday
This man was standing outside, with his coffee resting on the restaurant sign out on the sidewalk. To me and my friend (who is also Asian American), he says, "I appreciate Asian beauty."
And we walked away, dumbfounded.
I really wish I had had the nerve to say, "And we don't appreciate racist sexist remarks."
But I didn't. And now, here I am pondering whether it would have helped me feel better if I said something. And he probably feels good about himself that he told some Asian women that he appreciated our beauty. What is wrong with this picture?
I don't think I've ever walked up to someone and told them that I appreciated something about them. Based on NOTHING. Should I have told him that I appreciate the racist heterosexist patriarchal world that I live in? (Oh wait, I don't.)
Who really thinks that that's an appropriate thing to say? To complete strangers?
Or maybe I should have told him that I'm not actually beautiful, that this is something that has been social constructed by the media.
Or maybe I should have told him that I appreciate ignorant white men because they provide so much fodder for my life, my blog, and my work?
Sigh. Happy Monday