A Story of Race, Profiling and a Helping Hand
They were lost in Delaware, driving down a street in an area that was unfamiliar to them. They stopped at a stop sign, wondering which direction to drive in, when a woman pulled up beside them, rolled her window down and said, you must be lost, right?
Yes, they said. We're looking for the XYZ power plant.
Oh you are lost she replied. Follow me and I'll get you on the right road.
The men were white and the woman was black. It was obvious to her that these white faces were going deeper and deeper into an area that they most likely were not meaning to go.
She took the time to drive them through the neighborhood and up to the street they needed to take. They've waved good bye, tooted a thank you and mouthed thank you, too. She turned around and went back to where she had come from.
Obviously race was involved as they had done nothing to indicate they were lost and only their skin color indicated they might be going in the wrong direction. Obviously she profiled them when by skin color alone she assumed the were lost and certainly none of that profiling was wrong or bad as her big heart and helping hand got them to their destination.
I want to thank that woman because my husband was driving that day. She went out of her way to get them to the right road and she certainly had no obligation to do so. Thank you mystery lady, you went above and beyond what any stranger would do.
They were lost in Delaware, driving down a street in an area that was unfamiliar to them. They stopped at a stop sign, wondering which direction to drive in, when a woman pulled up beside them, rolled her window down and said, you must be lost, right?
Yes, they said. We're looking for the XYZ power plant.
Oh you are lost she replied. Follow me and I'll get you on the right road.
The men were white and the woman was black. It was obvious to her that these white faces were going deeper and deeper into an area that they most likely were not meaning to go.
She took the time to drive them through the neighborhood and up to the street they needed to take. They've waved good bye, tooted a thank you and mouthed thank you, too. She turned around and went back to where she had come from.
Obviously race was involved as they had done nothing to indicate they were lost and only their skin color indicated they might be going in the wrong direction. Obviously she profiled them when by skin color alone she assumed the were lost and certainly none of that profiling was wrong or bad as her big heart and helping hand got them to their destination.
I want to thank that woman because my husband was driving that day. She went out of her way to get them to the right road and she certainly had no obligation to do so. Thank you mystery lady, you went above and beyond what any stranger would do.
posted by mary bishop | 11:13 AM
3 Comments:
This is a cool story. (I hope it happened a while ago, or i'll be down that you didn't email me you'd be in my neck of the woods :) )
At any rate - sometimes visuals and profiling can be positives - when people have the common sense to know the difference. . .
Husband was on a business trip a few weeks ago - some power plant in Wilmington I think. I was home :-(
When he told me the story, I thought of how wonderful that woman was - how differences can be noted -- not in a negative way but in a positive way; how strangers are still willing to go out of their way for other strangers.
It was fitting because my husband is just such a guy. He would always help a stranger or a friend and it was so nice that was treated in the same way by this special lady. (He wasn't late for his meeting because of her!!)
It's okay to be coloblind and it's okay not to be. It's the 'when and where' difference that needs to be taught.
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