Quote:
Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski
I used to live on the Orange line of the DC metro in a very Asian neighborhood in Arlington. There was a korean restaurant that was open 24 hours. we went there alot during normal hours. One night I woke up hungry at 3 AM and went there. It was 100% Korean customers. I sat at a table and was ignored for a while. eventually I left. The crowd cheered as I walked. In short, I'm sure what your asking about happens de facto. It probably happens in glatt kosher restaurants too (think of the knucleheads who won't sit next to a strange woman on an airplane)- but would a restaurant announce the policy? Ty may be right, but on the otherhand it may be a way to advertise how very specially they follow Koran/torah.
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One of the things that I loved from the moment I moved to SF was how little of this sort of conduct I saw. I have been in restaurants, bars, stores where I was the only (except, possibly, for the person with me if I wasn't alone) straight person, non-Muslim, non-Latino, non-Asian, non-black person. I have not felt unwelcome. Give respect, get respect. My experience in other places, particularly east coast cities, has not been as good in this regard.
I recognize, of course, that even the negative experiences I've had in this regard are nothing compared to what, say, a black man experiences walking into a white crowd in many places. Here, too, what I see outside SF has been much worse. Two years ago I was in NYC for a trial, and when we went out with a paralegal from local counsel's office -- "we" being me and three paralegals from my office (one white, one Asian, one Latino) -- this woman, in front of people she had met that day and in a work capacity -- said "nigger" at least three times, called the Latino guy "hood-boy," talked about "getting some Mexicans" to do grunt work, and repeatedly marveled that the Asian woman (who grew up in Hong Kong) had a British-sounding accent.
Others' mileage may vary, but my own anecdotal experience has been pretty consistent here. I'm sure people have cheered when I left a room but it wasn't because of my race.
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