14 November 2016

Jack Frost has arrived with a cold wind. I wrapped myself up and walked down to the river where everything was bright and shiny, the river, the ferry, the hills, the joggers and cyclists and I got carried away for a bit. How beautiful it all is, how comfortable and happy our lives are here in this small city where so many nationalities live and work and study together, where the ultra right demonstrators were outnumber 500 to one last time, and then I met the elderly Korean tennis coach swinging his racket. Predictably, we chatted about the weather and the cold wind and our grown up children and earthquakes and universities and - this happens regularly - Ireland. His wife, he told me, is one quarter Irish, so his children's blood is one eighth Irish blood. At this stage I laughed and mumbled something about blood being the same for everyone but maybe the DNA and how that could be a surprise etc. And he nodded and laughed as well before he said, whatever the science, at least we are not black.
What? I said. Are you serious? And before I  would grab his tennis racket to hit him over the head, I walked on shaking, while he called after me, sorry, sorry, only joking. And of course all the right answers came to me much later.

11 comments:

  1. Oh my. It just goes to show you that anyone is capable of racism, right?

    ReplyDelete
  2. An evil wind is blowing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Everywhere everywhere, there is racism and hateful ignorance. Everywhere everywhere there is acceptance and loving open arms. I am afraid that racism and hate is winning right now. My country has broken my heart.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's mind blowing to have something like that come out of someone who seems like they could not possible contain such a thing.
    Even though you think you couldn't find the right answers at the moment (I do that all the time), your answer spoke volumes and obviously will stay with home for a long time.
    I hope you're feeling well today.

    ReplyDelete
  5. From across the pond, I send you great love.

    X Beth

    ReplyDelete
  6. Have you read Claudia Rankine's book "Citizen?" It is astounding, and I think you'd like it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh Sabine. You'd think I would be used to such stories by now but I'm not. Every time it's a fresh heartbreak. I loved your response, and you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. How very odd that he apologized by saying he was joking. How very sad. How baffling. Such fierce grace in that spontaneous nonviolent response of yours which left you shaking, nevertheless, as you walked away.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh, I think he got the message that you knew it wasn't a 'joke'.

    ReplyDelete