I got pulled over on a empty dark stretch of road and the cop pulled his gun on me. I didn't get shot or even a ticket - I didn't do anything wrong and the cop gave no reason. But if I was black it likely could have been ugly.

Anonymous wrote:It really freaks me out as a POC when I see white people open packages and eat things or give things to their kids to eat or to play with in stores BEFORE they pay for them. Doing that could so easily get me arrested.

Most white people don't do that.

Anonymous wrote:I can literally walk into most any store and people don't wonder what I'm doing there.

Must be nice... that probably has more to do with how you are dressed. I have been asked what I'm doing there and I'm white. Went to buy a $50K car in cash and got some really nasty comments and I almost always had the sales guys insist on going on the test drive which was uncomfortable being alone as a woman with my child.

It really freaks me out as a POC when I see white people open packages and eat things or give things to their kids to eat or to play with in stores BEFORE they pay for them. Doing that could so easily get me arrested.

Anonymous wrote:For me , my patients trust me more. It probably took me about 6 months into my career before a co-worker was complaining about it. It never occurred to me that those of another race would face difficulty, especially with the elderly population. Now it is something I notice and holy crap it is so prevalent.

I’m also in medicine. Patients often assume I’m the nurse and not the janitor like they do with my black colleagues. Wish I was exaggerating.

Anonymous wrote:I can literally walk into most any store and people don't wonder what I'm doing there.

I've been in some upscale boutique stores and had that reaction (I'm a size 14-16). I cannot imagine how difficult it must be going through that on a regular basis.

For me , my patients trust me more. It probably took me about 6 months into my career before a co-worker was complaining about it. It never occurred to me that those of another race would face difficulty, especially with the elderly population. Now it is something I notice and holy crap it is so prevalent.

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand the receipt thing. Isn't that more of an income thing?

Wait nvm I get it now. I'm an idiot.

I don't understand the receipt thing. Isn't that more of an income thing?

The receipt thing for me, too. Also, walking in with returns and not worrying about whether someone would think I had stolen it that day. DH is Latino and he helped me see this stuff. We joke about it between ourselves--he points out I strut around with all the confidence of a white lady.

I can literally walk into most any store and people don't wonder what I'm doing there.

Mine is similar -- I've brought my own shopping bag into stores, strolled around putting a few groceries in it, and then gone to the checkout and emptied it onto the conveyor belt. Just to avoid dragging around a basket.

Pure white privilege. I've stopped doing it.

In what nuanced ways did you realize you were a racist and hate white people? I've always made sure I had a bag and receipt.

My feeling of dread when being pulled over by a police officer is that I'm going to get a ticket, not that I'm going to get arrested, beat up, or possibly shot or killed.

My lack of awareness that I can drive my fancy car in any neighborhood whatsoever without some cop suspecting me of stealing the car.

Mine is "Oh, I don't need a receipt."

I can't tell you how many times I've said no thank you to a bag or a receipt b/c I have a canvas bag, or whatever I'm buying will fit in my tote, and I don't want yet one more piece of paper to shred at home. I hadn't quite realized that all black people were making sure every little thing they bought had a receipt and a bag. What's yours?