This would end up being one of the more memorable twists in race relations during my job. Some weeks ago in the middle of winter, the following events occurred:
We were in the nearing the end of the lunch rush, weeks before Christmas. The restaurant was slowly emptying but there were still some customers in line. I was running an order back and returned to my post as several new customers came in.
There were three of them, bundled up in their winter gear. Judging from their overalls and the boots, I determined that they were from the power plant and had just emerged from some maintenance work. When they removed their hoods and scarves, I saw that there were two black men and a black woman.
They scanned our menu, their eyes quickly darting back and forth. The woman stepped forward from the group and placed her order. A coworker wrote it down and yelled out the drink order to me as I started to fill the cup with ice. As I gave the woman her drink while she waited for her order, one of the men started to speak.
"You know, this is like a comedy show..." He remarked to his coworker, chuckling slightly.
"How so?" His companion replied, his attention focused on our menu.
"Well," The man started to explain, "You got a bunch of Asians making barbecue and serving it to us...I mean, am I right?" He looked at me, upon finishing his remarks.
I stared at him and I turned to look at my cousin, whose mouth was slightly open and his eyes wide in shock and confusion. The black woman stared back and forth at her coworker, unsure whether to apologize or to even say anything.
My cousin and I stared at the man for a few more seconds, oblivious to the pandemonium unfolding around us. We started to laugh and the black men started to join in. Internally, we were rather annoyed and mildly offended. Luckily, before any drastic occurred, we were handed their carryout orders. We dispensed them to the men and the woman and bade them good day. The woman gave us a slightly bemused glance as she left with her companions.
Afterwards, my cousin grabbed my arm and turned to me. In a quiet whisper he asked me, "Is it just me or was that kinda racist?"
I paused for a second and replied, "I'm not really sure but it certainly did feel somewhat racist."
"But they're black...and we're Asians..."
"Yeah, I know. I don't know how this ethno-reverse-racism shit works. It's...it's a bit different."
"Yeah, tell me about it."
Needless to say, this wouldn't be the last time stuff like this would happen.
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