Lunch with the Skinheads

I grabbed a quick lunch in the hospital breakroom today. On the same table were four nurses that I knew and worked with. They were engrossed in some conversation about Bush and the Republicans. Somehow, in between bites of my horrible, microwaved frozen panini, the conversation turned to the war in Iraq. Then to the Middle East in general.

My nose was buried in a newspaper when one of them declared that she had been taking a Western Civ course recently, and decried how middle easterners were all "uncivilized barbaric fur traders who never evolved." I almost choked. More so when the other three pitched in their approval.

"And which middle eastern country did you visit that you came back with such an impression?" I wanted to say. "Uncivilized? You are talking about people who were reading, writing, and counting (ever heard the term hindu-arabic numerals?) a thousand years ago, when your ancestors in europe were still eating uncooked meat with their bare hands," I buried my nose deeper in the newspaper to keep from blurting. Maybe she was referring to their poverty, and the consequences of it. But one really ought to differentiate being poor from being uncivilized. Heck, they were soaking everyday in turkish baths back in the day of your louse-infested forebears.

Then the conversation shifted to bashing the Islamic religion in general.

Soon, probably because of unfamiliarity with Islam beyond watching Chuck Norris movies, the direction swerved back closer to home. "I was at a minimart the other day, and an elderly hispanic lady kept pointing at something and talking in spanish. The sales clerk shouted at her, in front of everyone there - "Speak English!!" Why cant these people learn english? Why do we have signs in both english and spanish? My grandparents learned english when they came here."

I had been successful at holding my tongue until she pointed to me and said, "like him, he had to learn english when he came here." I said, "I knew perfectly well how to speak english UNTIL I came here. Funny, I have not seen store clerks scream at little old italian women who cant speak english. Have you?"

There was a bewildered look in their eyes, then I guess they decided to target their attack at some racial group that they could be certain I could not be part of.

When they started with the anti-semitism, I stood up and left.

Frankly, I would not have been surprised to hear that banter in a barbershop, but among healthcare PROFESSIONALS? That may sound naive, but sorry, I have a hard time envisioning Florence Nightingale in a white hood rather than a white cap.

I had always thought that knowledge and education were the antidote, as it were, to bigotry and racism. I guess I was mistaken. Anyone is capable of hate.