A drunken argument between a black man and a white woman leads to the most honest discussion about race I heard in
“I don’t like you”, repeated, ad nauseam, Very Drunk Black Dude, his unusually long right index extended. “I don’t like you”.
“Go back up your coconut tree! It’s my country, if you don’t like it here, go back to your country! Up your coconut tree! You fucking bastard!”, shrieked drunk and angry Miss White Trash.
“
“Go screw yourself”, stoically answers Very Drunk Black Dude.
Worth mentioning that from their looks, Miss White Trash was probably on welfare and the black guy on minimum wage - the direction of ‘who is feeding whom’ may be the opposite she claims it to be.
Other people’s reactions were interesting. In the land of political correctness, where ‘White’ and ‘Black’ are hushed words (black is replaced by “d’origine Africaine - or Antillaise, if they’re from the French Caribbean colonies - and Arab by “Maghrébin”), that’s not the kind of discussion you’d hear often.
People gasped on occasion - and starting discussing between themselves, on tones of a schoolgirl’s “Ow-my-Gawd-she-did-NOT-just-say-that!”.
Anywho. Driver calls the police, which catches up with the bus, and comes on board, approaching Very Drunk Black Dude.
Act 2.
“Hey, why him? Why the black guy?” objects a Black Guy with Glasses.
The police disregard him, get Very Drunk Black Dude off the bus, which drives off.
“Why hasn’t anyone of you objected to what just happened? They took him because he is black! And you, white people, are sitting there, satisfied, because the black man is gone!”
I check out the guy. Well groomed chap, fancy square glasses, and holding a book - and, as a rule of thumb, when you see someone on the
“I’m French! I’m from
“Why didn’t anyone of you object? Why am I the only one who defended the man?”
“because you’re black as well”, retorted an opinionated kid.
Ah! Finally someone engaging in his monologue! Black Guy with Glasses gets even more excited.
“May be, may be. But if it was a bus full of blacks and the police picked the white guy, I would’ve defended him too”.
He then went on a discourse on “humanistic values, equality” - and, taboo of taboos, French racism.
The discussion, unusual as it may be, draws a well-dressed couple. All the back section of the bus - 8 or 10 people are listening in. The same people watching the fight earlier.
‘He was drunk and was making trouble’, someone tried to justify - explain more than justify, really: it was less of a defense of the police than a kind attempt to diffuse Black Guy with Glasses’ anger. It partially succeeded.
“I am French but I live in
Frantz Fanon would be proud, I thought.
Until then listening, a twenty-ish guy accuses him of nursing anti-white sentiments.
“No, no, I’m not going on an anti-white rant here. Look at Felix Eboué. He worked for
As we ride deeper into the night and towards the suburbs, the bus empties. I chat a bit with Black Guy with Glasses.
I learn he’s a Zulu from
“And my wife is a Yemenite Jew.”
As we approach the final station, we move towards the driver, who kept silent throughout the whole incident. And Black Guy with Glasses accuses the driver - blames him, rather - of wrongfully singling out Very Drunk Black Dude in his police complaint.
The bus driver responds very calmly, in the calm of a guy who’s heard it all before. “I reported a fight. The other two people happened to get off a minute before the police came.
And, buddy, don’t try to pin ‘racist’ on me.”
He points to a photo on his dashboard.
“My wife is Black”.
I repress a laugh. Nothing is what it seems tonight.
“Have we passed Saint Michel?”, asks Black Guy with Glasses. “I need to get off at Saint Michel…”
“Yes - 25 minutes ago”, I answer.
He laughs.
22 comments:
Another argument for selling one's car and riding public transportation..,there'll be more bus drivers!
So the racist woman was not thrown off? She was drunk and disturbing too.
Helen
very green of you lot to take the bus... keep on riding in the free world!
Zulu/Yemenite Jew mix? That's a good combination, I hope the offspring are female and do aliyah :)
The historically unprecedented waves of immigration that started in early 20th century are having an interesting and ultimately positive effect on humanity. The advantages of "hybrid vigour" in humans are significant in the long term.
The days of bus and taxi drivers everywhere are numbered, by the way. DARPA is making them obsolete.
What a great read, Mohamed! You described the scene and the ironies so well...
hey Mohamed, thank you for this story! i think the fact that people actually TALKED to each other on that bus is rather heartening, no?
K.
Dotty
I'm sure the bus drivers would be grateful to have more colleagues -- those poor fellows sometimes see nasty stuff and are occasionally subject to violence by their drunk passengers..
Rami,
It's not the environment, we7yatak, taxis are just ridiculously expensive in Paris. :)
Helen,
that was indeed Black Guy with Glasses' main argument. Though I think she and her buddy got off the bus as the police came on board or something - I looked around for them when the police left and I couldn't see them.
Abu Sa'ar,
Back off. I have dibs on the offspring once they're 18. Plus they live in Montreal.
Orly
Thank you very much!
K.
Indeed, that was the fun part to me. Looks like you need to get the french tipsy to have a serious discussion..
Most people on the bus, though, were confronted by an articulate, smart guy making arguments that go against everything they're taught. I found that amazing.
Perhaps night buses should be introduced in Israel, no?
Why, so there can be an honest debate about racism there as well? :)
In any event, I'm all for a TA-J'lem night bus. That'll teach those greedy sherut drivers that hike up the prices by 5 nis overnight a lesson.
And I'd also be for a Ramallah-Jerusalem bus service that doesn't finish at 8:30 pm, it is so annoying, can't have dinner with friends in J'lem if you don't have a car..
Unfortunately, cops are sexists, in my experience---the guy is always the one to go to jail, get detained, arrested or whatever. I always liked working with female cops on these kinds of cases because they had NO problem arresting the female. One case stands out in my memory: the woman calls the police, both man and woman accuse the other, both have bruises -- the female officer arrested BOTH of them. Sometimes there is justice.
Mo -
Telling you, forget about the buses. Once self-driving cars become public, urban transportation will go through a fundamental change. I give it a decade unless progress is significantly derailed.
As for Ramallah-Jerusalem night bus - I think that'll be a problem, given that the only real solution is impenetrable borders... reminds me of Mashina's "Night Train to Cairo" :)
You know, it reminded me of a racist attack on me I once suffered in a train in Sydney. Was sitting with a couple of Scandinavian friends and telling them the Brief History of the Hebrews. About 20 minutes into my gripping tale, a guy sitting a couple of seats away starts muttering loudly and angrily about me lying; I invite him to provide counter-views...
And then he blows up and starts yelling in English bubbling with Arabic emotion - that he's Balezdini and Al-Aqsa never belonged to yahood, it always belonged to Arabs, that he saw some tapes about it, that yahood are evil and liars and murdering and drink blood, etc etc;
Just as I was calculating the best way to neutralize him if he attacks, train stopped and the psycho got off. I was amused, my Scandinavian companions were shocked.
Back then I didn't know how to explain the man's behavior. But now, having met hundreds like him in the blogosphere and explored the roots of such insanity, I am now fully equipped to do so. I can even find some explanations about Helen's behavior. Long live that pathetic gimmick, Web 2.0! :)
Abu Sa'ar,
Night train to Cairo.. yeah, i remember this song..
Enjoyed your history of the Hebrews. You might have to explain to me why those poor Levis were landless though.
As for the Ramallah-Jerusalem bus and impenetrable borders - well, you can build your wall on the Green Line, but every little bit of East Jerusalem is occupied.. :)
Aliyah06 -
Well, male or female, I'm no fan of cops.. I am always weary of the amount of power these guys have, which is often not matched by a sense of responsibility.
The Levi were a tribe of landless priests who were paid taxes by the other tribes. They had complex and mysterious ritualistic duties - I presume they figured out it's better to be paid taxes by 12 tribes and be landless Temple servants than have to pay taxes and be farmers :)
As for the border and Green Line - sorry, mate, personally I don't feel bound by an armistice line. And well, my security comes before the comfort of Palestinians. So here's to hoping the wall will be built where it is most needed to protect me.
As for East Jerusalem - I am for giving it to Arabs. Once the inevitable mortal/rocket attack from there comes, however, I am in favor of creating a no-man's-land on the Eastern side wide enough to protect West Jerusalem. Depending on the range dear cousins will choose - if it's a 51mm mortar, 500 meters + 200 just to be sure. If it's a 80mm mortar, 2500 meters + 500 just to be sure. And so on and so forth.
Do you think it'll take more than a year to be forced to extend this no-man's-land all the way to the river?
I can see the Levi logic. Gosh, all those tribes and sub-tribes - and their particular rights and obligations under Jewish law, so confusing.. Thank God I'm no Kohen!
I'm always amused at how Israelis want to create no-man's-lands for their security inside the other guy's land. What is up with that? If you want a no-man's-land, do it on your territory. You can start clearing the land west of the wall as much as you want.. You are right though, it probably will take a year until the no man's land extends all the way to the Mediterranean. ;)
Like the agreement we have regarding the Sinai. There are strict provisions regarding where Egypt can place its army, and in the area closer to the border - area C of the agreement - they are only allowed to have soldiers with handguns.
Likewise, I think we should demand that Israel demilitarizes, probably up to Beer Sheva or something..
(hehehe.. I'm awaiting the next snarky response. :)
The burden of defense from Palestinians should rest with the Palestinians. It's kind of like these domestic violence restraining orders - the weight of the discomfort lies with the belligerent.
Always happy to provide snarky responses :)
Eh. Was hoping for more though.
Fair enough. So the Palestinians who need protection from the Israelis - because they have a stronger case for a 'need for protection' than you do - that means that you should disband the army, right?
We do not want to kill them. We just want them to leave us alone. They, on the other hand, want to kill us.
Ergo, they do not have a stronger need for protection.
I would appreciate an answer on the other thread, by the way. Is interesting for I.
Hey! It was excellent reading this! Excellent!
Thank you, Soha!
Ohh a great realistic read!
Thank Mohamed, haven't been on for a while. Keep'em comin s'il vous plait:)
Thanks, LC! Keep visiting :)
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