EYEHEARTZOMBIES

The other night, Elaine and I were at a local Chinese restaurant (the best Chinese food ever!) and we were waiting on our order to come. We usually just get it to go, and Friday was no exception.

We’d been in there for a few minutes, maybe 10 or so, and we’d been hearing loud noises outside. Kids running around and yelling, just making noise. Then we see a group of kids, all black with white bandanas on their heads, standing outside of the restaurant, talking. Oh well, no big deal. I certainly don’t begrudge anyone the rights to where what they want and stand where they want.

Anyway, a few of them come inside, still loud. They walk up to the counter to order. Now, think about how you order. If you’re an intelligent, polite person, you say something like “Hi. I’d like to get X.” and the waiter/waitress says “OK” and the order goes on from there. Right? Right. Not with these kids. The short one plunks his elbows down on the counter and, still loud, says “Gimme some chicken.”

It’s a Chinese restaurant! Everything is chicken! She looks at him and says “Chicken wings?” and he nods. She tells him they don’t have them any more and he gets a bit upset. “What? No chicken wings?” After she tells him that no, we don’t have chicken wings any more again, he and his friend start to fidget around.

“Well how much is the buffet?” he asks.

Now, let me explain this place’s buffet. You get all you want to eat off of the buffet area (like always), but you also get your drink and your choices off of a couple of huge dessert areas. Ice cream, cakes, cookies, fruit. All sorts of stuff. And it’s for a good price, too. $4.95 at lunch, $6.95 at dinner. For my money, it can’t be beat.

Apparently short gangstas don’t carry $7 with them.

“$6.95? Fuck. I only got $5. $7? Man. You must be outta yo’ fuckin’ mind.” And they walk out, the whole time talking about how “fucked up” it is that a buffet costs $7.

Now, the whole point of this isn’t to give some racist tirade. Or complain about how money-tight people are. I don’t care. I don’t see colors of skin, I don’t see quality of clothes. I try and accept every person to the same level and treat everyone the same way.

But when you come into a restaurant, cursing loudly and berating them for the prices they charge, you need to wake up.

I hear people bitch all the time about being treated differently. “We’re just misunderstood. Always trying to get a brother down.” Usually this comes after someone gets a cold shoulder ’cause they acted like an ass to someone else.

And, believe it or not, I’ve heard black people say that their tough-guy attitude and all the street slang and cursing is just “keeping it real” and a tie to their roots. The way I look at it, in this country at least, their roots were in slavery where they weren’t educated and they weren’t expected to have quality manners. I think you’ve got that one down. It’s time to move on, now.

It’s all very simple. No matter what nationality/race you are, if you want to be treated with respect and friendliness, you have to act that way. I’d be given a cold shoulder if I went in somewhere and started cussing and yelling about prices. Anyone would be.

Just grow up.