Discrimination

I felt the hatred emanating from

The young man’s dark black soul

The minute he slid into the backseat of my car

He glared at me with undisguised animosity

All I wanted was to get him to his destination

Safely and quickly and pleasantly

But he wanted confrontation

He wanted revenge against me

For ancestral damage I played no part in

The air was thick with his misplaced venom toward me

“You a fat, white, ugly, stinking cunt”

He brazenly said to me

I pulled over and told him he had to leave my car

“I ain’t leaving you car, you fat ugly 'Karen.'

You think all black men want to hurt you or fuck you

But you is unfuckable you old smelly bitch”

I hit the panic button on my rideshare application

I calmly replied,

“The police are coming;

You have to get out of the car.”

“I paid for this fucking ride bitch, and you are going to take me there.”

Was his reply.

I was not scared, but I was getting angry.

I did nothing to this man

But clearly society and life had mistreated him

I repeated,

“The police are coming.”

He finally got out, walked around and opened every door of the car

Kicking the sides for emphasis

I had to drive through the parking lot

Hoping the doors would swing shut

They did not

The police arrived

He was still shouting out epithets to me

“Fat” “Whore” “Cunt” “White” “Bitch”

He was let go with a warning

Discrimination cannot be eliminated

With even more discrimination

I will pray for his soul

But I was never afraid

Although he wanted to incite fear in me

I knew I was protected by something

Much stronger than he was

God’s love.

- Julie O'Hara

If you like this article, please consider tipping (below) or even becoming a patron. My books can be found on my website www.sacredsloth.net or online at Amazon and Barnes and Nobles under the name of Julie O’Hara Thank you very much and blessings on your journey.