A racist new yorker. I met him because I was sitting on a bus with my knee resting on one seat when this self-proclaimed 79 year old sat across from me and started grilling me on how I was taking up too many seats on a practically empty bus. (Check out the empty seats next to him.) When I ignored him he stared at me for about 30 blocks, (I didn't realize he was doing it because I never looked direct at him and at first I thought he was just looking past me), and then when I finally made eye contact he starts insulting me and calling me an obnoxious moron and then he asks if I'm American. When I asked him why it mattered, he responds that when when I become American I should learn the rules of this country. I taped until he ran out of things to say and then I turned it off--he started again after I turned it off. (He gave me permission when I asked if I could record him.)
Since he's an old man and a bigot I knew arguing would be senseless, so instead I asked him if I could take a video of him just to remember my trip, (a chortle of laughter arises in the back of the bus) while he kept on diatribing for the viewing pleasure of youtube. Afterward a departing woman chewed him out and he argued back, and then once she was gone he resumed ranting at me until he ran out of things to say and shut up for a dozen or so blocks, until we made eye contact again (he still staring at me!), which launched another diatribe about following the rules in America. This time I playfully rebuked him just for my own entertainment, but he rather than respond rationally he just got angrier. He didn't like the fact that I didn't let him have his way, but at this point he was repeating himself like a broken record. Finally when his stop came he made some parting remarks before leaving while I wished him a nice day. The guy behind me was laughing the whole time. Its ironic that I met him today, since I haven't met an obvious racist in a long time, and that I had to do so right after visiting the statue of liberty and Ellis island. Its just a reminder that the patriotic propaganda about this being the land of tolerance does not apply universally, and there are still some old people who harbor open rather than hidden prejudices. Oddly this incident has improved my impression of New York--my impression has been that the people here are more assertive, more bossy, and more hot tempered, but the majority of the bus were laughing at him and I could definitely come to appreciate the easy to start conversations that arise with strangers here, and the way some strangers instantly act like friends if you even talk to them. Its superficial but it can be fun.
If you'd like to download a copy of this video click here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?h3zpr6sa70a...
