It's common to scroll through Facebook and stumble upon a story about some kid who has recently been a victim of racism; the post says something along the lines of, "we have to stop racism before it spreads too far!" and there are thousands of comments advocating for change. It's also common, as a person of color, to think, "wow, this is horrible, but I'm so grateful this has never happened to me."
Unfortunately, I can't say the same.
It's one thing to read about racism, but it's another thing to experience it firsthand. This past week, my family experienced it firsthand in the most subtle way possible, but it left a nasty aftertaste that was hard to shake off.
We were on a boat traveling between islands in Greece. An Australian couple was sitting near us, and they noticed us getting on board. After initiating small talk with my parents about our trip (in a super condescending manner, by the way), asking where we were from and how long we were in Greece for, they began asking if my parents had any curry and samosas with them.
While it's common for Indians are very commonly stereotyped under this pretense, it's never really bothered me until this Australian couple asked my parents this so condescendingly. I applaud my mum for not snapping at them and for handling the situation well, because I know if I were in her shoes, I would have chewed them off for that comment.
It annoys me to no end that this kind of subtle racism is still so prevalent today, and the fact that it's happened to my family personally is equally as frustrating. This kind of thing coming from the mouths of two adults is unacceptable, but the fact that it was done in the most subtle, inconspicuous way possible is what annoys me even more.
The normality of stereotyping is the worst part of this situation. It wasn't like they pointed at my parents and called them terrorists; the comment was slipped into the conversation like it was a normal thing for them to bring up. It was clear the comment was thrown around with no malintent, but the fact that it's being thrown around in the first place is what irks me.
Sure, maybe I'm overanalyzing a comment that was meant to be a joke, but the manner in which the joke was executed didn't feel so funny to me or to my mother. You never know how it really feels to be stereotyped until you experience it firsthand, and it's a lot worse than you'd think. That story that you read about on Facebook is someone's reality, and last week, it became my families.
