The Girlfriend™ and I stopped into a local T-Mobile store on late Sunday afternoon because she needs a new phone.  She had been looking at the Blackberry Pearl, which she said was $79 and I said was $249.  So I did the thing that most people would do — I saw the only guy standing there dressed in a button-down shirt, tie and slacks, and I said, “Excuse me, how much is the Blackberry Pearl?” Because honestly, when you’re in a store late on a Sunday afternoon and you need assistance, you tend to look for the people who are better-dressed because you assume they’re employees because who wears business attire late on a Sunday afternoon except the people who are, you know, working?

Except this guy wasn’t an employee.  And I was fine with that and I apologized, but what really pissed me off was the fact that the guy made it racial.  Yes, he was black, but seriously — friends and relatives have commented that unless I’m deliberately being politically incorrect, I’m pretty colorblind.  I went by the clothing.  But this guy had to respond, “No, it’s okay, I get it, you saw the black dude and thought he was the one selling you stuff.”

Eff you, dude.  It’s people like you who are causing the problems.  I was dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, you were one of the only people in the store dressed in a button-down shirt, tie and slacks.  Which one of us is more likely to be on the clock at the moment?  It was a simple mistake, and it had nothing to do with the color of your skin.  But if you’re predisposed to thinking that way, and you put that vibe out there, then you create the racial rift between us.  It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, and if you’re actively looking for something, you’ll probably find it in places where it doesn’t apply simply because you’re so intent on seeking it out and you’re running everything through that filter. 

And this guy probably went home and told his girlfriend/wife/friends about the White Devil who was racist to him in the T-Mobile store, and they all probably harrumphed a bit, and that guy probably felt better about the fact that he pointed out to me how racist I am.  And maybe he’ll go out and try to bait someone else next week.