towelhead
i did something i shouldn't have today... i stooped to their level. some dorky white teen in the passenger seat yelled "towelhead" out his window as they drove by, and as i was getting into the turn lane for 29 north and they weren't, i rolled down my window and yelled "redneck" as i passed their car.
normally i find such episodes hilarious. just ask me sometime about my profiling incident and i will tell you about how i laughed out loud to myself all the way home (incidentally, despite what the easton police chief said in this article, the officers who stopped me actually said i had been called in as "a suspicious-looking person of middle eastern descent"). i mean, as long as there's no harm done, these things make great stories.
but i was thinking - what if musa were older, old enough to understand that someone had just yelled something derogatory at his mother? i could certainly make it a teachable moment (especially by not responding as i did today, for which i apologize to any white folks or southerners who might be offended), but it still pisses me off to think of it. i know you can't shield your child from the overwhelming ignorance around him as he grows... but... well, what right do they have to expose my innocent child to their idiocy?
it's bad enough that children have to grow up so much faster, that they learn so much earlier to fend for themselves emotionally... but i wish, i pray, that every child could have enough security, at least until they are old enough to see past it, to be completely unaware of the fact that there are people out there who don't mind hurting them...
in other news, musa's new milestone is sticking his butt up in the air when he's on his tummy. so he rolls over, then pulls up his knees till his butt is sticking up in the air and tries to push forward, but only succeeds in sliding his legs back out again. then he gets frustrated and starts whining. then you pick him up and put him on his back again. then he rolls over and starts over again.
anyway a couple of days ago we put him on his back while he was sleeping, and a few minutes later he had rolled over in his sleep and was soundly slumbering in this position:
he is sooooooooo much fun now mashallah!! :)
normally i find such episodes hilarious. just ask me sometime about my profiling incident and i will tell you about how i laughed out loud to myself all the way home (incidentally, despite what the easton police chief said in this article, the officers who stopped me actually said i had been called in as "a suspicious-looking person of middle eastern descent"). i mean, as long as there's no harm done, these things make great stories.
but i was thinking - what if musa were older, old enough to understand that someone had just yelled something derogatory at his mother? i could certainly make it a teachable moment (especially by not responding as i did today, for which i apologize to any white folks or southerners who might be offended), but it still pisses me off to think of it. i know you can't shield your child from the overwhelming ignorance around him as he grows... but... well, what right do they have to expose my innocent child to their idiocy?
it's bad enough that children have to grow up so much faster, that they learn so much earlier to fend for themselves emotionally... but i wish, i pray, that every child could have enough security, at least until they are old enough to see past it, to be completely unaware of the fact that there are people out there who don't mind hurting them...
in other news, musa's new milestone is sticking his butt up in the air when he's on his tummy. so he rolls over, then pulls up his knees till his butt is sticking up in the air and tries to push forward, but only succeeds in sliding his legs back out again. then he gets frustrated and starts whining. then you pick him up and put him on his back again. then he rolls over and starts over again.
anyway a couple of days ago we put him on his back while he was sleeping, and a few minutes later he had rolled over in his sleep and was soundly slumbering in this position:
he is sooooooooo much fun now mashallah!! :)
posted by Ayesha | 5:59 PM
8 Comments:
Yeah, I wouldnt apologize to those losers. And Musa will benefit from seeing his mum fight back. - I think. Sadly, these things are inevitable. I know I got called names in Pakistan too ... stupid people are everywhere.
Great blog with a nice kid's pic..
Mashallah...and
"the officers who stopped me actually said i had been called in as "a suspicious-looking person of middle eastern descent"). i mean, as long as there's no harm done, these things make great stories"..
Why do they call everyone who resembles a middle eastern a muslim..??
Even if you were close to someone hacking a dog..They will say,..We have a muslim man who was close..
do that make a headline or are we a threat..to zem?
Salaam,
Masha-Allah your son is adorable & I love that name! :)
You weren't too bad in your response - usually I just ignore it but sometimes it gets so frustrating.
I remember when I had a melt-down on a bus in Boston when an off-duty driver started screaming racial abuse at me and my sister. It was so shocking and I have to admit I stooped too. Waaaay lower than you.
It still shames me to think of it.
*sigh
Warmly,
Baraka
Saalams!
That's such a creative shot of your son!
I'm really glad you said something because the few times I've been racially abused, I stayed silent and regretted it so much afterwards.
I don't see it so much as stooping as much as defending yourself. Its hard to take the higher moral ground everytime.
Peace,
Maryam :)
Hey!Sometimes you need to say something just to shut *them* up!We all get to cross paths with the losers,have had some experiences myself and I always respond.I try not to but,hey,what the heck,they just piss me off!
salaams people,
i guess it is better to respond in some way, but perhaps an equally racist epithet is not the best response...? oh well... maybe i should have gone with "poopyhead," which is what i call musa when i smell something funny :)
Sinan often sleeps with his butt in the air. It is so cute.
well yesterday me rabs and baby jesus were at the mall buying luggage (we got like 60% off!) so I'm wheeling our new two-piece set back from the register to where rabs and baby jesus were entertaining the mallgoing crowd.
Some stuffy old man walks by and says, "Happy flying!" I figure ok, he thinks I'm going on vacation and taht's why I'm buying luggage. I chuckle politely and go about my business.
So I'm back with rabs and issa explaining what a great deal we got, and the same guy comes up and says, "You should be careful, because you're middle eastern." I look at him oddly and respond, "I'm from North Carolina, I don't know what you're talking about."
He says, "You're not middle eastern?"
"No."
"Well, you're talking to a lady who seems to be middle eastern," he says, glancing down at rabs.
Issa's humorous giggles breaks the otherwise tense moment.
"Hmm, well, she's not Middle Eastern either."
Then as a perfect end, the stuffy old guy's wife says, "Are you done??" and pulls him away.
What an ass.
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