Characters
Ally
Cara
(Both girls are sitting in a bedroom or living room)
ALLY: I have a question for you.
CARA: What’s up?
ALLY: Henry and I were at Wendy’s last week and there was a couple who was mad at the family in front of them, they were black, because they were taking a long time to order. There were 3 kids that were under 5 so it was taking them a while. The annoyed couple got mad and they said, “stupid blacks have tons of kids they can’t control.” So Henry and I froze, because it was super awkward and we didn’t know what to do. But then the mom just started laughing and I guess kind of brushed it off and the dad finished up the order and moved everyone along. They didn’t seem phased, do you think that was the right thing for them to do?
CARA: I don’t know if there’s a right or wrong thing to do in that situation, I think it depends on the person.
ALLY: But do you think laughing at it minimized the situation and made their comment seem like it wasn’t a big deal?
CARA: No, I don’t really think so. They were probably trying to ignore it so their kids wouldn’t have to hear that hatred. Was the dad mad or did he just ignore it?
ALLY: Yeah, I thought he was gonna start screaming at the couple.
CARA: That’s probably also why his wife laughed, to tell him it wasn’t a big deal and not to make a scene. Sometimes that’s the easiest thing to do.
ALLY: But isn’t it kind of rude and insensitive to laugh about racism?
CARA: Rude to the couple who made the remark?
ALLY: No no no, just rude in general, like to African Americans.
CARA: Well, no offense, but I don’t think you’re completely qualified to make statements like that. You are white, I mean.
ALLY: Right, sorry. But what do you think, can’t laughter be mean at times?
CARA: I don’t know, probably in some cases. But I think laughing at something takes away its power. You're saying, “I know what you said is hurtful but I’m laughing because I won’t let it hurt me.”
ALLY: But that makes it sound like you can laugh at any inappropriately racist thing someone says.
CARA: Some things are too big to be laughed at. It’s like when someone says something to you that rubs you the wrong way, and you can either react or just let it slide. That’s what laughing does, what that mom tried to do. Her kids probably influenced her a lot, too.
ALLY: Probably.
CARA: I think her response was appropriate, since she didn’t want anything to escalate.
ALLY: I wish someone would have told that couple to back off though. What they said wasn’t okay.
CARA: You or Henry could’ve told them that.
ALLY: I didn’t really think it was my place.
CARA: Ah.
ALLY: She handled it well, I guess.
CARA: It’s too bad she had to deal with that at all.
