Microaggressions

            I was at Wegman's (grocery store) on Tuesday this week and I was waiting in line at the checkout. There were two sets of people in front of me and one more behind me. The first set of people was a Black woman and her three children ranging in age from 5-11. The second set of people was an older gentleman and the set behind me was a husband and wife, both of Asian descent. The three children were acting out because they were told they could not have any candy. The Asian woman behind me said to her husband, not at all quietly, "Do you really expect anything more from them?"

            I was embarrassed for all involved because the mother of the three children heard the comment, as well as the oldest child. The other two children were scolded one last time by the mother and they started to behave. I thought it was very rude for an outsider to interject and she made it worse by making it a racial issue.

            As I observed and watched for different microaggressions this week I realized that every act of racism or discrimination hurts somebody, often times many people present in the group. Acts like this in public are beyond inappropriate and I hope that as our society becomes more educated we can move past these hateful, foolish acts against one another.