Seattle is being overrun by some horrible, horrible men and living on Capitol Hill, I seem to be caught in the middle of them. They gather in herds in the bars and on the streets on weekend nights, ages 22-28, mostly White, obviously Northwest newbies, almost certainly working in tech. My feelings towards them are hostile at best, and it has nothing to do with The Seattle Freeze. I just want my city back.
I was walking home from my gym at 9 pm on a Thursday, red-faced and sweaty, eager to shower. As I approached Chavez- the latest ridiculously overpriced restaurant with giant windows and an industrial aesthetic- I saw two men in plaid collared shirts standing outside, clearly eyeing me. One of them struck up a conversation as I passed by, "Have you been here before?"
"No, I haven't." I responded somewhat cautiously, knowing there was a catch.
"Well, do you want to get a drink?"
"No," I answered, firmly this time around. "I just finished working out and I'd like to go home and shower and sleep." I'd also like to be able to walk down a street in my neighborhood wearing workout clothes without being ogled, but I kept that part to myself.
"Hey, no problem," he said, although I knew he didn't really care. He was tipsy enough that he'd forget his rejection within a minute. Then a man walked out of the restaurant and, within hearing range, Drunk 20-Something Year Old Tech Man pointed to him and said to me, "He's Black."
Way to fucking go!!! Within the span of 30 seconds, in a historically gay neighborhood, you managed to be both sexist and racist to two complete strangers!
The Black man and I gave each other "Did that just happen?!?" looks, and I responded with the first thing that came to mind. "Yes, yes he is. That's a weird thing to say." In retrospect I should have released my feminist anthropology major wrath, but I was exhausted and sweaty and not expecting to- you know- have an argument about race and gender while making my way home for the evening.
Thank you White Male Privilege, and thank you to the companies that are bringing the privileged white males to Seattle.
I was walking home from my gym at 9 pm on a Thursday, red-faced and sweaty, eager to shower. As I approached Chavez- the latest ridiculously overpriced restaurant with giant windows and an industrial aesthetic- I saw two men in plaid collared shirts standing outside, clearly eyeing me. One of them struck up a conversation as I passed by, "Have you been here before?"
"No, I haven't." I responded somewhat cautiously, knowing there was a catch.
"Well, do you want to get a drink?"
"No," I answered, firmly this time around. "I just finished working out and I'd like to go home and shower and sleep." I'd also like to be able to walk down a street in my neighborhood wearing workout clothes without being ogled, but I kept that part to myself.
"Hey, no problem," he said, although I knew he didn't really care. He was tipsy enough that he'd forget his rejection within a minute. Then a man walked out of the restaurant and, within hearing range, Drunk 20-Something Year Old Tech Man pointed to him and said to me, "He's Black."
Way to fucking go!!! Within the span of 30 seconds, in a historically gay neighborhood, you managed to be both sexist and racist to two complete strangers!
The Black man and I gave each other "Did that just happen?!?" looks, and I responded with the first thing that came to mind. "Yes, yes he is. That's a weird thing to say." In retrospect I should have released my feminist anthropology major wrath, but I was exhausted and sweaty and not expecting to- you know- have an argument about race and gender while making my way home for the evening.
Thank you White Male Privilege, and thank you to the companies that are bringing the privileged white males to Seattle.
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