When my dad called his mom to tell her she had a grandson, she replied "Does he look like us?" My slanted eyes earned me some derision and ridicule as a child, but very rarely as an adult. The most memorable was a girl I dated in my 20s, whose dad had a brother who had served in Vietnam. Jack (or Jackoff, as I called him) made it clear he didn't approve of his daughter dating "that g0ddamned gook." My Asian half is Japanese, so I think "slope" or "nip" or "Jap" would have been the more appropriate invective, but who am I to judge? I had fantasies about telling Jackoff how entertaining his daughter was in bed, but my better angels won out.
So interesting. I was taking care of a black baby once for a friend back in the 80's. And I took her to the grocery store with me....and I'm telling you---I might of gotten some looks from whites, but I got some comments from blacks that made me really uncomfortable. Obviously they thought I was the mother---and didn't like it. Since then I've had no experiences but a neighbor adopted a black child and she had the same experiences I had. I know people who have Asian spouses and children but haven't heard any experiences from them--but they may not bring it up. Its hard for me to imagine that people can be so shallow or bigoted.
So much of it is generational. My drama with Jackoff is probably the last time I ever had to deal with it.
When I lived in an apartment complex many years ago, some teenagers got the idea that I was gay because I was single. They egged my car and cut the paint on it. I went to see their parents and laid out the facts. The parents, who were Jewish, came down hard on them which ended the nonsense.
In Junior High, during the Martin King Death, agitators came to my midwest town and held meetings. Several blacks that I had considered my friends turned overnight, making taunts and threats. That was common,but we held our ground.
Having worked in retail for several years I have been on the receiving end of being called " cracker " at least three different occasions.... Because someone heard no or didn't immediately get their way. But the joke is on them because I am indeed a Florida cracker..... Next time I'll tell them to get it right it's Florida pink belly cracker to you! But unlike some when being called racial slurs, I'm not immediately moved to violence over words.
