Blatant Racism vs. Racial Microaggression
Carl Bell was waiting his turn to check in at his hotel. A well-regarded psychiatrist and academic, he was traveling for a television appearance. The TV station had flown him first-class and sent a chauffeur-driven car to pick him up at the airport. But just before he stepped up to speak with the hotel clerk, a white man marched in and cut him off. Bell, who is black, was indignant.
“Do you think I’m waiting for a bus?” He demanded. “I’m standing right here!”
The man claimed he simply hadn’t seen him.
(excerpt from “What Was That? Researchers Explore Below-the-Radar Racism“)
I’ve had the same experience over and over again here in Berlin. When I pointed out to the person who had cut in in front of me that I was also waiting in a line, most of them silently stepped behind me. A few gave me a why-are-you-being-so-difficult look before complying. One time an elderly man simply refused to talk or move and insisted he got there before me and had only left temporarily.
It’s possible that these people really didn’t realize I was there, but when it happens repeatedly, and only when I’m the last person in a line or alone, it makes me wonder if certain people may have particular eyes that render all Asians invisible?
Then again it might just be a Berlin thing. Berliners have not been known for their courteous manners; just watch them push and shove when they get on the bus or get off the underground.
Social scientists use the phrase “racial microaggression” to describe “the subtle indignities and insults directed at minorities during everyday exchanges. Their ambiguity is what makes them so vexing–the recipient doesn’t know for certain whether it is a deliberate slight, making it difficult to know how to react.”
This reminds me of another incident that happened to me several years ago when I went to the student registration office at the Humboldt University, wanting to find out about their Masters programs. I had just arrived in Germany and spoke very little German, so I asked the secretary, rather embarrassed, in German, if she speaks English.
This was her answer, in German, with a polite smile on her face:
“Of course I speak English. But we are in Germany, and Humboldt University is a German university. We are not in America. This is not Stanford. This is not Yale. This is not Harvard. This is not Berkeley. This is not Columbia. This is not MIT. This is not UCLA. This is Humboldt University and we are a Germany university. So please try and speak German.”
I was stunned. Not knowing any more useful German to pursue any further communication I got up and left. Till this day, I am still puzzled and not sure how the incident should be interpreted.
It is this kind of microaggression that may or may not be racially charged that’s the hardest to defend yourself against. If someone physically attacks me in a dark ally, I know how to put up a good fight. But when someone says with a smile in broad day light that the boat is full, there’s little I can do but leave.
Unfortunately, as long as this country still laughs with Anke Engelke (a German comedian) when she pulls her eyes back with her hands to make fun of those slanted eyes on national TV, I’ll probably have to throw my arms around the person in front of me when waiting in lines so nobody can cut in for my lack of visibility.
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