Just thinking

I went to the dollar store and there was this young woman there. She was about in her mid to late 20’s and was talking loudly and cursing a lot. “Where’s the muthafuckin’ this and the muthafuckin’ that?!” The man who worked there seemed to be attracted to her and she seemed to be flirting with him in a way. I thought about how quickly we judge each other without knowing why others do what they do.

I would have been one to quickly judge that woman. Sometimes, often really, we have certain behaviors to protect ourselves. The store is in a neighborhood in South Central Los Angeles. In that area, that sista may feel like she needs to portray a rough exterior so that others wont try to take advantage of her. It’s possible that she is rarely outside of that area.

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I walked to the store again today. As I walked in there was a young lady who walked in right behind me. There was an Asian woman at the counter. The young (20 something) black woman (who walked in behind me) said in a very fast and mumbled voice, “Ey, yall got any receipt books.” I didn’t even understand what she said. The woman at the register continued helping her customer. Yes, she was busy with a customer.

There was also a black man (40 something) who was working there. The black woman immediately began speaking to him. “Do yall got receipt books? That bitch over there act like she caint hear. I know she heard me ask her.”

I was watching an interview with Erykah Badu once where she was saying something like what artists need to bring now to the world are solutions and not just talk about the problems. I do understand that feeling but I don’t know that I have solutions. But I do see the problems. I see and feel the anger and experience the frustration in breakdown of communication. So, should I not write about our problems because I can’t solve them? That wasn’t an attack on Erykah’s statement, it was a genuine question. Where is the line between reporting experiences, specifically the negative ones, and ranting about situations we can’t or won’t change?’

Regarding the situation in the store, I feel the young lady and the store clerk too. I’ve been the black customer in the Korean shop who gets rude service because, in my opinion, of my skin color. I’ve also been on the receiving end of some young black woman who was rude and demanding my attention regardless of what I was occupied with.

So this is me, just observing the situation, no solutions, just observations and questions. The city, Los Angeles, this area, South Central, is hot with folks carrying anger they don’t know what to do with. The wrong word, the wrong day, people explode. I wish I had the solution. But I don’t. Do you?