I'm not sure I would call it a highlight, but the "climax" -for lack of better words- was when we went for lunch at Hometown Buffet. We were walking to our table, and we passed a guy with two women who were already seated and eating. They were all in wheelchairs and quite overweight. Under normal circumstances, it was a sight I wouldn't have even batted an eyelash for. I don't see anything too funny about being in a wheelchair, much less being overweight and confined to a chair as well. So I wasn't wasting my energy staring at them, until I noticed the guy (who looked like he could be a part-time Santa Claus) giving me the ugliest stink eye EVER. I I thought, oh my - squinty eyes, scrunched nose, crinkly eyebrows - what a bad look for him. Gracious, he should try smiling for a change. Anyways, I momentarily brushed the stare off, thinking it was just another one of those stares I could raise my eyebrows to and they'd shy away. But no, it wasn't. This guy was a pretentious booger. I had already passed his table by a few feet when I heard him say -loud and clear- "Gah, you damn foreigners". Wait, what? Whoa! Where'd that come from? Was that really necessary? (Note: Hedyeh, who's also a hijabi, was walking right behind me)
Now, I completely understand that there are people everywhere, no matter where in the world you go, who simply can't accept people who look different. Believe me, I get it! And it just makes me all the more grateful for people who are smart and educated enough to get with it and accept the outside differences. I hate how discriminatory people are so difficult. Why can't they open their minds for a change? I'm an American citizen, not a "damn foreigner", thank you very much!
Knowing that kind of negative thinking is out there and alive pushes me harder to prove ignorant people wrong. I hate knowing that other people think that I'm so radically different and un-American just because I wear hijab. What an assumption. For god sake, I was born in New Jersey and was raised with English as my first language! How does that make me a foreigner? Of course, Ignorant Santa wouldn't know that, but still. It's just the headscarf that makes me different, not where I'm from. And I don't think Mr. Claus knew this either, but not all of America is white and average. It's diverse. With diversity at the core its people. Psh, me, foreigner? Really? America's founding fathers were foreigners. Think about it.
In my three years of wearing hijab, I had never had such a public, derogative action directed towards me. I've been lucky in that aspect. So when Santa actually had the guts to vocally discriminate me like that, I was taken aback. I couldn't wrap my head around it at that instant. It sunk in later though, the more I thought about it. I'm still kicking myself in the foot for not saying something. I really, really wish I did. Just so he could know that I heard him and could actually understand the English language. I know, what a concept! I can only imagine what his reaction would have been if I said something: "OH, the foreigner actually heard me? How can she hear through all that cloth on her head?! And how does she understand English, shouldn't she speak Muslim??" I hate to admit it, but I was too shocked to come up with something and go say it to him then. Oh well. Mr. Graham gave him a piece of his mind for me :)
As annoying as the situation was, I really came to admire and respect the MV community so much more after this. I was actually pretty surprised when I told Mr. Graham about what had happened and he immediately had us high-tail it out of there. Mrs. Ariss was able to get us our money back from the manager too. That action in itself meant A LOT. I don't think I can put into words how much that meant. And on top of that, Mr. Graham went back in after we were all in the car and chewed the guy out a little. I was so grateful for that - at least someone put Mr. Ignorance in his place! I wasn't expecting that at all. And not one person was rude about it. Everyone was so nice and supportive about the whole thing. It was quite touching. And while it's nothing they could have controlled, they were still apologetic that me and Hedyeh had to get that kind of crap. It's heartwarming to think that these are the kinds of people I go to school with and learn from. People who are accepting and open-minded gain so much respect from me.
Long story short, we went to East of Chicago Pizza after that and had fun there. Everyone treated me the same, I was still the same person, and I had myself some good pizza. Then we went to the Padua Center for the last time and I went into a church for the first time. I was really amazed by the beauty of it all. It was such a pretty building! I also helped build a Christmas tree for the first time too. I can see why it's considered such a cozy family tradition. We all just sat around in the living room and helped put it together.
I know this post is super long, but I had to get my side of the story out there. And while I'm not hurt or traumatized or anything by the experience, it did give me quite a bit to think about. Despite all that, the day was pretty good. But let's just say I won't be going into Hometown Buffet for a while, that's for sure :P
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