More Yoga, Racism, & Retrievers

On my way to yoga- which I frequently am, because it's one of the only things that keeps me sane in this lovely holiday period of academically induced stress, I had an interesting run in with ignorance.

These are things that I tend to find hugely entertaining.

Anyway, to get to yoga, we cross from the parking lot through an organic market, a coffee shop, and then to the street on the other side. In the market, there were two women with seeing eye dogs that just so happened to be golden retrievers. Most people who have spent extended periods of time with me or joined me on a walk can tell you that I have an obnoxious/ridiculous habit of talking AT the animals that I see- particularly dogs. And I used to have a golden retriever so this was one of those times. "Aw...!!" (suspend judgment please, it's the only severely 'girly' thing that I do).

A random passerby took this as a cue to approach me.

"Yes, they're cute, aren't they?"
"Yeah, they really ar-"
"It's too bad that in China, they just eat them. Here, they help people."

I was a little confused as to why she'd chosen to tell me about her not-so-PC views on Chinese people. Until I remembered something. I look incredibly Asian. Actually, I am Asian. Just not Chinese- and based on my upbringing with American parents, I'm a New Englander.
I suppose she thought she was educating me by pointing out the usefulness of adorable animals, and in so doing, showing me the light- so I could see the error of my ways and repent... Saving one Chinese girl's soul at a time and by proxy, Chinese dogs.

I couldn't really form words because my jaw was on the floor, so I left rather than attempt a dialogue. But I guess it's appropriate. Her reaction, that is. I mean I talk at dogs in stupid voices like an idiot, so I guess she's allowed to talk at the Asians and be an idiot. In retrospect, the correct response should have been something along the lines of "Yes, it is a shame- that they're fabulous with ketchup."

I recalled afterwards an incident in grammar school when a girl on my bus turned to me one day to tell me about her Chinese take out experience which included cat hairs. She was certain that Chinese people were putting cats in her lo mein, and that I was in on it... There was a lot of intense, accusatory staring- I think she felt that if she stared me down long enough, I would admit to poaching the neighborhood strays. "They eat those in China. Which is where YOU'RE from." "I'm not Chinese, I'm American." "No you're not. You look Chinese to me. You're from there." Since your outward appearance obviously dictates everything about you, I decided she wouldn't appreciate my prepared spiel on adoption. "I don't eat cats. I'm not Chinese. But where I come from, we eat dogs. So if you're missing them in your neighborhood, now you know why." She mostly avoided eye contact after that incident. It seems that any time somebody finds dietary injustice at the expense of an animal, they blame the Chinese.

Somehow, the disciplinarians rarely really found my sense of humor very amusing.

Showtune Lyric: "At the end of the day you're another day older."