“Get the hell out of my store and don’t ever come back.”

I am white. In many ways because of that I am treated differently than blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, etc.

Some people just don’t get that. Somebody somewhere is reading this and saying it’s the white people who are looked down upon these days.

That’s baloney.

One time in my life I was discriminated against for the way I looked and because of that I was refused service. One time! By the way, that was during my motorcycle days of long hair, road trips, few showers, and no razor.

I can’t imagine feeling that way every day, but some people do.

In the 1970s I was the new kid in Midwestern junior high school. I became very good friends with another kid who happened to be black. We hung out and walked home from school together about every day. One day we stopped at a little mom and pop store to get some candy. The owner saw us and yelled at my friend, “Get the hell out of my store and don’t ever come back.” I think he threw a couple racial slurs his way, too. We hurried out of the store, and I asked my friend what happened. He said it was because he was black and the store owner hated black people.

Although I was young and it happened about 35-40 years ago, that store owner’s actions have stuck in my mind to this day.   Continue reading →