So, I’m walking down Cheeryble St in Openshaw this week to get to my own road, Ambush St (I’m not kidding), and I notice three little girls (all about 5 years old) sitting outside the front door of one of the houses, giggling and seemingly enjoying themselves. And, as anyone would, I smile in their direction and carry on walking up the road.
At this point, one of the girls shouts: “Paki! What are you looking at?”
I’m unsure as to whether she’s addressing me, as I don’t look remotely Asian. But I turn my head again to just smile at her and let her know I’m not phased and not a threat to her.
And her next words were “Do you wanna fight?” And she seemed serious. She was wearing a Man Utd top and everything.
Needless to say I didn’t take her up on her offer, but I did end up feeling like something very random had just happened, and very annoyed at such an obnoxious little kid.
Thankfully I did pray about it too and realised that the only explanation as to why someone so young would say those kind of things, particularly making such a specific racist comment to a white guy, is that she’s merely copying a role model in her life, probably her dad. And then my anger transferred from the girl to her obnoxious, racist dad and I started praying for her safety.
Then yesterday I bought the book “They F*** You Up: How to Survive Family Life” by Oliver James, which had been recommended to me by Dan Reynolds of Frontline Church, and it’s all about how the first six years of a person’s life hold many secrets as to the person they become. And I’m sure this book is gonna challenge me loads about my own life as well as understanding other people.
Has anyone else experienced racism and aggression from strangers as young as 5?
I’ll finish by promising you 2 things:
(1) i won’t mention books in every blog I write
(2) my reference of words like Paki and F*** will be sporadic
Macroscopic Life 