A Civil Rights Moment

Something sad just happened. I entered a Latino corner store at around the same time as a black girl. We both headed straight for the fridges to grab a cold drink. While she grabbed exactly what she wanted, I looked around for a few moments and took my time. When I got to the cash register she was waiting there. I thought she'd already been helped and so when the Hispanic lady behind the counter acknowledged me, I gave her my bill. The black girl got all upset; but, seeing that the lady was not understanding her, she gave up and waited. I felt so bad for her. Unless there was some sort of misunderstanding, the lady at the store served me first just because of my race. It was blatant discrimination--something that I never thought would "benefit" me.

I felt so bad that I talked with the girl in English and apologized to her. Remarkably, she was positive about the whole thing and kept her cool. Rosa Parks, no. But a good example nonetheless.