IS IGNORANCE REALLY BLISS?

Bigotry |?big?tr?| noun bigoted attitudes; intolerance toward those who hold different opinions from oneself : the report reveals racism and right-wing bigotry.

In the spirit of my vacation, I decided to take a shopping trip to my favorite city in the world; New York. It was Labor day weekend, Hurricane Ernesto was at its best and it took me 9 hours to get to NY! My luggage was somewhere in Conneticut; Delta JFK employees were not helpful and needless to say I wasn't in a vacationey mood by the time I got to my hotel room but I thought to myself "stay positive, make lemonade out of these lemons, it's just a minor setback besides DELTA had promised my luggage would be delivered to my hotel room the next day so... FINE!

I hadn't been to NY since Dec. 2001 rite after 9/11, at the time, the stereotype of New Yorkers been rude rang painfully true. Everyone lived in fear and terror, no one felt safe and everyone was suspicious of their fellow man and with good reason. This time was different, people looked me in the eyes, said hello, smiled at me and I thought "WOW I guess going through something as traumatic as 9/11 together awakens you to the fragility of life and creates an unspoken bond". I wish that feeling had stayed with me through the trip...

For as long as I lived in the South, I never witnessed any form of racism, maybe it did happen but like I always say if you weren't raised in certain conditions then you don't know to look for them. In other words, ignorance is bliss. I attended a college where 93% of the population were white, in my 4 years in college I only had 2 black professors. Still... Nothing; UNTIL I GOT TO NEW YORK!
I stepped out of the airport and a Middle Eastern gentleman walked up to me asking if I needed a taxi. I said no thanks and was about to cross over when I heard raised voices behind me.
A Nigerian airport employee had started to harass the guy I guess about soliciting passengers. Next thing I hear the Middle Eastern man say "You cannot judge me by the way I look, this beard is part of my religion and I have a right to wear it". Meanwhile your African brother is yelling and jeering at this man "Go and shave that sh*# off! Al-Qaida! Bin-Laden! You don't belong here!" Needless to say, not only was I shocked but I was thoroughly ashamed, utterly disgusted and embarrassed.
YOU ARE A BLACK AFRICAN IN AMERICA! YOU EITHER CAME HERE ILLEGALLY OR VIA AN AMNESTY PROGRAM LIKE VISA LOTTERY AND YOU HAVE THE EFFONTERY TO OPENLY THROW RACIAL SLURS AT A MAN TRYING TO MAKE AN HONEST LIVING!

The word bigot is mostly associated with white people because it is (unfairly I might add) easier to assume that they think they're superior to other races. However, what I think is worse is someone that can identify with having odds against you inflicting the same treatment on a fellow minority. I guess ignorance isn't always bliss.

"Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends." - Maya Angelou