Look twice

A compelling short essay about the racial transparency (and lackthereof) that occurs in a subway fist fight.

I stared at him until he noticed me. His eyebrows shot up. He looked away and looked back. His face was beery and pink. My face was blank. “You want something?” he said. I said nothing. I just waited. “You got a problem?” I shook my head. I wanted him to see me and know who I am. I thought to myself, “Look at me, you son of a bitch. Look at me and see me.”

For all the pride our American culture has about homogeny, we take simply but cruel acts to break that barrier. At these moments we are thrown into a thin line between awareness and cowardice. This reminds me a lot of my observations and experiences while living in New York, even as a well-to-do and overprivileged student, I was surely made aware of my race while living in Brookyln. At other times I had to make it be known.

Via Racialious.