Racist Bus Passenger

Racism is not dead, sadly. Picture this. I'm standing on a particularly crowded bus going through downtown. I'm carrying a duffel bag, but most of the other passengers are similarly burdened. There's a older white man sitting in the seat next to where I'm standing. He smiles at me and comments on how crowded the bus is. I smile back and agree. He then leans towards me and says, "I'd give you my seat, but one of them n****ers would take it before you could." He gestures towards an older woman, who's wearing a hijab. I'm too stunned to react, so he continues:

"Used to be that they'd have to get up and give you their seat. That's the way it should be, like in the old country. Guess that's what you get for living in this country."

I'm frozen, hearing these hateful words spill from his lips, and painfully aware that there are a large number of people watching our exchange. Finally, I respond, "Actually, equality is one of the things that I love and admire about this country", and with that, I turn my back to him. It's the most dramatic movement I can make in the crowded bus to signify that we were not in any way together. I catch the eye of the woman wearing the hijab, and she smiles at me, a truly marvelous smile. A man that I hadn't noticed before gets up and offers his seat to an elderly black woman, who thanks him and sits down. He winks at me to show that he's on side.

So no, racism isn't dead, but it's fading. With each small stand we make, it fades further into history. I am proud to help it diminish.