Snobbery

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Clarissa

May 16, 2021

I had a colleague who once went to a restaurant but tried getting in through the wrong door. People at the restaurant asked him if he was there to make a delivery.

“It’s because I’m Mexican!” the colleague ranted. They see a Mexican face and assume I can only come to a fancy restaurant to make a delivery. It doesn’t occur to them I can be a college professor!”

The guy’s “Mexican face” is whiter than mine but leaving that aside, what’s so humiliating about being a delivery person? Nobody gets upset to be mistaken for a doctor. It’s pure snobbery that masquerades as political grievance.

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5 responses to “Snobbery”

Maria

May 16, 2021

I remember seeing some documentary on HBO. A woman who identified as a woman and dresses like man was complaining how hard it is to be her because people misidentify her as a man. The interviewer nodded in understanding and didn’t burst out laughing. I seriously could not wrap my head around it.

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Margaret W.

May 16, 2021

I have often gone to the store after work and forgotten to take off my work badge. Other customers mistook me for a manager or other store employee. They asked me for help–or where something was in the store. I always help them anyway. Kindness is contagious. I don’t recall every getting angry or upset about it.

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1. methylethyl
  
  May 17, 2021
  
  Exactly! I occasionally get mistaken for an employee when I shop, and it is no big deal. If I know where to find what they’re looking for, I’ll point them in the right direction.
  
  IMO this is more than just a class thing. I think the taking offense is partly a big-city thing. My hometown is a small-ish city. Nearly any random person here, if we sat down and chatted a few minutes, we’d find out we knew one or more of the same people. Which means if I behave badly in public with people who I think are total strangers, someone I know is going to hear about it. And I’m going to be embarrassed. 90% odds that someone I insult in WalMart is going to be my cousin’s second-grade teacher that they still keep in touch with…
  
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Pen

May 17, 2021

How in the world do you mistake a side or back entrance for the front door of a restaurant? Even little hole-in-the-walk places will have signs.

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1. Clarissa
  
  May 17, 2021
  
  A professor, you know? We are permanently distracted. I once tried to walk out of a very clean glass pane. It really hurt but at least it didn’t break.
  
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