When I think of what to write for my Monday blog posts, I realize some things are almost too crazy to put down and are best not talked about. Racism has very much been in the spotlight, with a very dark history that has to be undone. This issue is something we all need to face head on. But what happens when someone is wrongly accused of being racist because of the color of his or her skin?
There are days I am so glad I don’t have to leave home and can stay in my happy place. This week is the countdown to my daughter’s graduation, which will consist of nothing but a diploma being handed to her. The parents even received an email from the school banning us from staying in the parking lot. This came after an administrator rounded up all the kids who have to take the ferry to commute to school. Remember the post where I recounted the story of the few mischievous kids who blew up an outhouse at the ferry terminal? Well, apparently, the same kids decided to lock the porta-potty from the outside, resulting in an older gentleman being unable to get in. Of course, he raised holy hell with BC Ferries, and apparently he had enough clout that he was connected to the right person and achieved a result the average customer wouldn’t have gotten. The school was contacted, and the administrator rounded up the many kids who take the ferry and told them that because of the few kids who locked the porta-potty, BC Ferries would be banning all the kids from the ferry and they wouldn’t be able to come to school.
One of the many students there pointed out that the kids in question weren’t among the rounded-up lot of kids facing this inquisition. Evidently, everyone knew who did it—including the ferry worker down at the dock and all the commuting adults who also take the ferry. Yet no one had said anything at the time. Of course, the administrator said he didn’t think the culprits were there, but that was how things worked: They rounded up all the kids and issued a strong warning, a little threat, even if they didn’t do it. One of the other kids lifted a hand and mentioned the firecrackers the kids had dumped in the porta-potty earlier to blow it up. Apparently, the school administrator hadn’t heard about that, and BC Ferries had never mentioned it either. The older man being unable to get into the porta-potty was more serious, so because of that, all the kids would be banned and wouldn’t be able to get to school.
When my daughter told me about the roundup, I said, “One, the administrator and BC Ferries can’t do that, and two, shame on them for rounding all of you up and having you face consequences for what someone else did.” I pointed out that BC Ferries has surveillance videos, but the problem is that their security people won’t share the footage with workers or even police, which I found out when my autistic son was robbed on the ferry. Then I pointed out that it’s a good thing my daughter will be done school in another week. Did someone rat out the kids eventually? Yes, of course. I’m pretty sure that was the entire reason for the roundup and the threat.
But the events of my daughter’s week didn’t end there. Yesterday, she came home from work really upset because an Asian woman had come in and called her and another young waitress racist because they were white. I was like, “Excuse me?” That is a loaded word that should never be used carelessly or tossed out because of the color of someone’s skin. Although we are seeing spikes in racism, most people won’t stand for it anymore. Pretty sure most of us have called racism out at some point, saying we want a spotlight shone down on this. But apparently, this customer wanted one of the tables at the railing, which were all reserved, and she didn’t have a reservation. She went over to the owner, who isn’t white, and said, “I don’t want to talk to those girls because they’re white, but you’re a person of color, so you understand how I’m feeling. They didn’t give me the table at the railing because I’m a person of color, and everyone sitting at those tables is white.”
Now, of course my daughter was horrified and upset beyond belief. The owner pointed out that those tables were all reserved, but the customer didn’t stop there. She was quite vocal about pointing out that everyone who had a table at the railing was white, and then she said she had even asked the people at the tables whether they had reservations. She next tossed out the accusation that all white people on Vancouver Island are racist. The owner, of course, argued with her that no one was being racist and told her that those tables were reserved, so there were no tables left to give her. Apparently, she kept arguing, stating, “This is how I’m feeling. This is my perspective.” In fact, she had been walked through the restaurant and given her choice of the unreserved tables.
The other waitress asked my daughter to go sweep upstairs so she wouldn’t have to hear any more. The incident had become upsetting to everyone. The owner was quite upset as well, understandably, but how do you convince someone who is seeing racism where it doesn’t exist? Calling someone racist is not something that should be done thoughtlessly. It is a loaded word, a dangerous word, and a very hurtful word. Isn’t giving someone a label because of the color of his or her skin what we’re fighting against?
As for the school roundup and BC Ferries, what can you say? I guess it’s always been easiest just to round up a group of kids and tell them that although they may not have caused a problem, they’ll lose their rights because of troublemakers who did. Thank goodness school is almost over, but with those kids and their shenanigans, I’m sure something else will happen down on that dock sooner or later.
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