Quote:
Originally Posted by Haak
I actually had a rather strange one just last week.
So when I was going to work, I was waiting on the platform at the train station and there was this somewhat elderly couple waiting at the same platform. When the train arrives they walk past me to get on the train and as they do the lady stops in front of me and says "Can I just say, my father died in the war for people like you"
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^ That was my reaction. In other words, totally blank. The lady was walking away anyway and I didn't know how to react so the opportunity kinda flew by and I just got on the train like normal. (Luckily we ended up in different carriages though I guess they might have done that on purpose).
So I'm sitting on the train thinking about it the whole time and what she meant. The funny thing is, since this type of thing has never happened to me before I was more inclined to suspect it was an age thing rather than a race thing (since I've heard that kind of comment levelled against teens before, though not at myself) but then I realised that wouldn't make any sense because I looked just like any other regular guy going to work with a suit and tie. I mean if I was dressed like a chav and being a prick then I could understand a comment like that but I wasn't and i didn't even look young anyway. But then the elderly couple got off at an earlier station and as they walked past me again (I was sitting next to the window) they saw me too and lady gave me the middle finger at which point I just thought "Well I guess that settles it then..."
Honestly I just couldn't help but find the whole thing a little too comical so I wasn't all that upset. In fact I was half glad it happened since I've been feeling like I'm at a turning period of my life as I finally started working full time, so I couldn't help but feel it was kinda fitting: My first racist experience. 
I guess it's a little hard for me to feel anything about the whole thing. Although I'm obviously from Pakistani descent and grew up in it's culture, I'm not that big on Pakistani/South Asian culture and I've never really considered myself anything else other than British, so it's a little hard for me to understand how other people can see me so differently. |
Well I can think of a proper responce to that, but that depending entirely on your various family history. What did you ancestors that would be her father's age do in the war? Did they fight for the Commonwealth as well, because I lot of colonial/commonwealth troops did serve back then. If one of them did, the correct responce would be, "Oh good, my (relative) fought for you too in the war."
If you have details of unit your relative served in you can throw that at them too. "He was in the (name of unit). What service was your father in?"