Comical side of Prejudice

Prejudice, racism, discrimination  bias are not funny. They are extremely unpleasant for the victims and can by psychologically debilitating. The perpetrator has no concern or thought for his target. He does his deeds without the slightest  of humanity.  Throws it out there and walk away without looking back. I never can get it out of my head , how one human being can treat another in the most deplorable manner purely because of some aspect of their physical being that they have little or no control over. How evil can we be as member of the human race? How callous and unjust we operate? Ignorance and lots of it are some times behind such disgusting behaviour. And honestly you can’t help but laugh when you remove emotion and observe some of stupidity play itself out.

Recently I received a letter sent to my business address, addressed to me as the director of my company.  This was from the agent of a Global Company very much interested in doing business with my company. There was a direct number in the letter for me to call. Now, I am always open shop for good business. So I picked up the phone, called, the right person I needed to speak, he answered the phone and identified himself. I exchanged pleasantries, introduced myself and told him I got his letter, the reason why I am calling. His next question took me by surprise. He asked if I was the tenant for one of the flats that my company owned. I was speechless for what seemed like eternity.  “Why would you ask me such a question?” I asked. Your wrote to my company at my company address, I identified myself, you still had to ask such an ignorant question! I guess he realised his folly so we proceeded with the business discussion and ended the call. However I could not get the question out of my mind, why? I knew why, prejudice was why. He had in his mind what the Director of the Company will sound like and obviously I did not sound like that to him. My voice to him was the voice of ‘the tenant of one of the flats’. Absolutely nothing wrong whatsoever in being a tenant of one of the flats, but that was not the capacity in which I introduced myself.

I am still kicking myself for not being quick wit, and just for the sake of comic relief,  march stupidity for stupidity and ask if he was the window cleaner for the company even when he had introduce himself with his position “Consultant” boldly written on his letter. Again there is absolutely nothing wrong or demeaning about being a window cleaner. But for crying out loud, give honour to whom honour is due.

I  have countless experience of such nonsense. I once ran an ad in my local paper, the ‘we buy any car” kind. My however was ‘we buy any house’. The ad had my mobile number. I got a few calls, but the most memorable was a man that called and kept insisting that he had previously spoken to another english sounding man on my number about selling his property and that was the only person he wanted to speak. All attempt to let him know there was no English sounding man and it was just me and me alone was to no avail. After wasting enough of my precious time I got exhausted with his blinded prejudice and had to end the call.

I was once doing a development and for my sins I was also the project manager, so I had my portcabin office on site and you will always find me in full regalia,  hard hat, ugly steel toe boot and high visibility vest. So this man (men seem to be the most perpetrator) walked into my site as if he owned the ground and insisted he needed to see “the main man”. Again I started the tideous process of explaining there was no main man, it is just me, me, me, me! I felt like screaming. I could see the discomburbulation going on in his head. Oh my! This is so wearing! I need some relief,  so I smiled and then I had a good belly laugh with a couple of Nigerian handclaps to accompany it!!! Maybe like is good afterall. Free comic relief on a very stressful tense site, priceless!