"On Having a Black Name"

[browngirl]

From hitchhiker:

On having a black name by Daisy of Daisy's Dead Air.



An example of what people said to her when she used to work customer service and she gave her name:

"Are you black? Give me someone white. I want someone who can find their ass with both hands, no offense."

Comments

[nellorat.livejournal.com]

It ALWAYS means, "Yes, I know I'm being an asshole."

I tend to avoid "never" and "always," but I agree. If someone genuinely doesn't mean offense, they won't say it in those rote words, because they'll actually be thinking about it: "Oh, please don't take offense, but I'm literally phobic on the topic."