Racism Field Report 1: Greenville

A lot of random things- ranging from the interesting, wonderful, to the infuriating- can happen while you're out in the field.

A while back, I was going to write a field report about when I was in Los Angeles doing a bootcamp with an Asian American student from Japan where we encountered a racist AMOG (Alpha Male Other Guy).

I never wrote it because, while yes it was a little insulting, it was more of a humorous event where a racist white guy slinked away with his tail in between his legs and had to "save face."

Alas, this being the Deep South (ie Texas), such things are still prone to happen despite how much we think people, culture, and society have evolved.

I write this series of posts, not as a diatribe, but hopefully as an example to my fellow Asian brothers who have felt the sting of racial slurs... but can see that standing up and succeeding is the best field tested tactic to overcome racists.

Shit is going to happen. And you have to be prepared for it. So without further ado...

This weekend, I took my Asian student down to Greenville which is a kind of a down to earth, college street replete with bars and clubs.

While we were bouncing from one of the larger bar/clubs, two white dudes passed us at the door and one said, "Oh, look, Bruce Lee and the Gook Squad are leaving!"

Infuriated, I turned around and stepped back inside and said, "Yo, HONKEY! What did you just say?"

The white racist made karate chopping motions with his hands and as I stepped up, his more sober white friend stepped in between us. My student followed me back in since he didn't catch what happened.

The white friend apologized, explained that his buddy was seriously drunk, didn't mean anything by it, and was very willing to be apologetic, offering to buy us drinks and basically de-escalating the situation.

I stepped away and my student and I moved on.

Yes, such things make me angry. It causes me to lash out. Yet, I vent it out, let the negativity wash out of me, and I move on. There are bigger and better things on the horizon without such things anchoring me down.

I am in the moment. I am there to teach. I am there to succeed.

I am Asian Playboy and I am unstoppable.

Oh, and I also ended up making out with a blonde cutie (hottest lone wolf in the club) at the end of the night. The student can confirm this for any doubters.