The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

During my undergrad, a group of friends and I took a road trip from Chicago, IL to Miami, FL. We had a great time on the trip until we encountered overt prejudice on the return trip home. Of the six of us, only 2 were white. We missed our exit off of a freeway and ended up turning around and stopping for gas in a rural community in Alabama. We pulled up to the pump across from a old and weathered pickup truck. The pickup was full of white guys dressed in camouflage hunting gear. They seemed to be enjoying themselves and were laughing and socializing with the employees of the gas station. They all seemed familiar with one another and perfectly comfortable in their space. Apparently, our group's appearance was an intrusion.

It just so happened that I was driving and the other white guy in our group was sitting in the front passenger seat.  While we weren't greeted with smiles by the guys in the pickup as we pulled toward them, their stares quickly became frowns as they looked past us and saw 4 not white guys in the back of our vehicle. They turned their gaze back towards the two of us in the front of the car and started shaking their heads as if to tell us no, you're not welcome here. To make it more clear, two of them began to drag their fingers across their throats as if to suggest getting out of the car would result in our demise. The others stuck up their middle fingers at us and began yelling, "Niggers!" and "Nigger Lovers!" We pulled out of the gas station without getting gas, figuring it would be best to avoid such a confrontation.

As we pulled away from the station, however, they jumped into their pickup and proceeded to follow us closely moving from behind our car, to next to us, to getting in front of us and slamming on their brakes while trying to lure us into pulling over to the side of the road. We eventually returned to the freeway and with increased traffic, they backed off. We were left wondering what we had done to warrant such treatment? Not only was their malice directed at races other than their own, it was also directed at other white guys for simply being friends with people who looked different.

It was deeply disappointing that problems like this continue to exist in this day and age. Fortunately, I doubt that any of those 'gentleman' will be involved with policy making in the future, however, it shows that much work is needed as we strive towards building equity. For these guys to be so blinded by hatred and ignorance highlights a need for change. While it was difficult to shake off their insults, it has become apparent to me that these guys have likely had limited if any opportunity to become acquainted with diversity. While great diversity exists within the United States as a whole, there are still many areas that remain homogeneous. I feel that without exposure to diversity, people will remain uncomfortable with it. How do we get people to understand and think about multicultural education in areas where diversity is almost nonexistent?