It is what happened after, on my way home.
I was walking home after what you would call a good day at school. I was happy and in high spirits. As I was walking, minding my own business, two Caucasian boys, about 12 or 13 I think, approached me on their bikes. One of them, the older one presumably, proceeded to ask me:
"Hey, can you give me a dollar fifty?"
Now this totally took me by surprise. First of all, I had no idea who these guys were, and they had no idea who I was. Typically strangers do not ask strangers for money, much less without any form of politeness or respect... but I digress.
I then proceeded to shake my head and politely say, "Sorry, I used it on the bus."
After that, with no warning or anything, they take off on their bikes. No thanks, no nothing. Just words of hate: "Oooh, the stupid Chinese girl used a dollar fifty on the bus!"
Okay, rude.
A couple things:
1. Asking strangers for money... questionable.
2. I did not withhold money from them because they were a) white b) just kids or that c) I was greedy. I will tell you here that I have a U-Pass, therefore, I have no need to use change on the bus. But the way that these two were insincere from the moment they opened their mouths, I decided that they were not going to get my one fifty.
3. Hello, unnecessary racial slurs.
4. WHERE IS THEIR RESPECT?!
Unfortunately, this is not the first time I have witnessed or personally experienced young kids who are rude. My dad told us about one time how he was approached by two young girls, perhaps about the same age as the boys above, and without any acknowledgement or antagonizing (which my dad had no interest or time for anyhow), came up to him and began making inappropriate faces at him. For no good reason at all.
So what is my point?
This, my friends, is my biggest pet peeve of all time. I am ashamed to be part of a generation where people can be so rude, so disrespectful, and so ignorant to not just strangers, but their own family and friends as well.
Going back to the boys, the unnecessary use of racial slurs baffled me to know end and put me in great disbelief. What era are we in? I do not accept racial terms of any kind. It is disgusting that some people would think of themselves as higher than other races because of their skin colour. But the fact that we, in 2014, have come so far in achieving equality for peoples of all skin colours and STILL have people being racist and ignorant is unbelievable. The fact that these kids are using racial slurs is uncalled for.
In my mind, children of today should be more tolerant as they were the ones that grew up with ethnic diversity way more so than their grandparents. But the truth is, I hear racial slurs all too often. Just last week, more young kids used the term "old black bastard" under their breath when they were gently reminded by this African American gentleman to free up their spot on the bus for an elderly woman. Not to mention the conversation I overheard, again on a bus, between two young girls that were discussing why she would not date a guy in her grade because he was not white.
Now I recognize that after all this, you may be thinking that I myself am being racist, because it seems that the common thread throughout these incidents may be that all these disrespectful kids are white. I would like to tell you that not all white kids are bad, just the way that not all kids of other skin colours are not innocent. In the end, it comes down to how children were brought up and their family dynamic.
The sad reality is that more and more children are becoming more ignorant and more disrespectful, which is why I get so frustrated and am so ashamed for the way that they act around strangers. I remember as a young girl getting disciplined openly for being disrespectful to anyone. Nowadays, I do not even think twice about the way that I should act. Everyone, especially those that are older than I am, deserves MY respect, whether they are white or black, Asian or Hispanic, it does not matter. We are all the same. We are all equal. We do not succeed without one another.
To conclude, though I was rattled by this incident (and I realize that my biggest fault is getting rattled too easily and holding grudges), I take this as a reminder that I should respect everyone, even if they are not nice to me. I hope that you, too, will take this as a reminder as well.
(http://autisticsspeakingday.blogspot.ca/)
"Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king." - 1 Peter 2:17 (New American Standard Bible)
So give everyone the respect they deserve! Live righteously and remember to do unto others what you would like them to do to you, and spill ink while you do so.
x R
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