I was a witness to racial hate the likes of which I’d only ever seen on TV, in movies and on the news. I was stunned, shaken and certainly frightened enough to be poised to dial 911 on my cell phone. This was up close and in my face.
I was outside having a puff and noticed two very tall black guys walk halfway up the block across the street from me, they stopped and stood there having a converstation, minding their own business. Next thing I know there’s some pipsqueak of a white guy yelling obscenities and racial slurs at them, trying to provoke them into a fight. I should also mention there was a blue minivan stopped just a half a block away. I imagined the worst. The white guy, in my mind, was successful in goading these two black men into fighting. The white guy maybe had a weapon like a knife or gun, or some way of getting the black men into the van and, well you can extrapolate the rest.
I have to hand it to the black dudes, they ignored the white guy a long time as the white guy strutted in a semi-circle in front of them. After some time they had enough. They started to talk back, offering up their genitals for the white guy to suck. That was the when I let my finger hit the dial button for 911. It only rang once, this was because the white guy suddenly took off up another street I hung up. The 911 operator called me right back and I explained that I felt there was an iminent threat to the black guys, that there was a hate crime about to be committed. I explained the white guy suddenoly took off. The operator assured me I did the right thing even though nothing came of it. The two black guys went off to their own desitnations.
I went back up to my place clearly shaken. I had never personally witnessed such ugly behaviour up close and if I ever see that again it will be too soon. Why do people hate those of another colour? It makes zero sense to me.
It took a while to stop vibrating like one of those fancy hotel room beds that take quarters but I did and I felt compelled to write this to bring help bring awareness to the issue of racism here in my province of NS.
Now, because of Covid-19 hate crimes against asian communities has been on the rise. It’s inconceivable to me how a group of people can put themselves so far above BIPOC folks. Dear white supremacy people, the colour of your skin does not make you superior in any way, shape or form, get over yourselves. The colour of your skin should not give you extra privileges or rights. We are, all of us, humans.
Black Lives Matter
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My Phoenix Rising 