Wittle Stowies

Did you know that when there is a car crash in Dubai that leaves blood on the street, they will block off the section until the street is fully washed to prevent cars from driving over the spilt blood?  I was informed of this by a cab driver, who justified these protocols by saying, “It’s because we are human here.”   I wasn’t quite sure how to take that comment.  Was it the result or his poor English, a comment about how other people are less “human,” or something else?  I still tipped.

 

While waiting at the airport in Dubai, I engaged in conversation with this man who was from Baghdad.  I don’t think I have ever spoken with anyone from Baghdad before.  He was so nice to me.  For some reason this was surprising.  Wouldn’t he hold at least some resentment towards my country and perhaps me by extension?  I couldn’t detect either one.  Not only did we talk for about 1 hour, but a few minutes after I left our conversation, I was walking towards my departure gate and I hear someone yell my name behind me.  I see him running down the crowded terminal holding my cell phone in his hand.  “You might need this” he said.  All I could do was touch my heart in gratitude and smile.  He understood.

 

When I was about to arrive in Cape Town, I was talking with a local and inquired about buying a car.  He explained, “Just don’t buy a car from a black guy.”  This comment just made me stop.  I was speechless, a phenomenon that occurs at about the same frequency as I change residences.  Finally, a real, live racist Afrikaaner.  I have found the type of person where if all people of this variety were just removed from society, things would function a lot more peacefully.  The cities would be safer, black people would like white people, white people would like black people…you know, peace.   So, like a good white person, I decided to intervene.  Minorities can’t be the only people standing up for their rights, reminding the majority of their rank and privileges.  It’s a responsibility, a civic duty.  I could talk about that topic for a long time.  So, to ease my way back into the conversation I asked, “Have you had bad experiences with that?”  He replied, “Well, you see my wife is black and she would never buy a car from a black guy.”  WHAT???  Did I hear him correctly?  I feel like I just got splashed with ice cold Reality Check Gatorade as I see my quarterback fumble the snap with one second remaining.  How do you explain that?  My natural tendency towards dilettantism and verbosity would like to attempt to tackle this monster, but this one just ran me over.  I have a lot to learn.