As I’m sitting here thinking about getting a haircut, I realized that it didn’t carry the same weight for my non-black peers. You see, I got more or less accused of being suspicious at work by a customer who said there was a sketchy person in the parking lot. I was taking my lunch break in my car.
I knew I’ve put off getting a haircut and shave in some time, but I started to understand that this is a way to regain a sense of safety. I started to weigh the options: do I keep my hair and beard growing or do I get the cut and shave I planned? How much of that is what I want, and how much of that is for a concern about my safety?
Mind you, I still intend to make myself look good, but it’s hard to disentangle safety concerns from everyday decisions in a racist environment.
It already sucks being assumed unhygienic or unintelligent because of the way I wear my hair. I don’t need people thinking I’m sketchy because you can see my beard when I take my mask off.
I guess if I had to sum up the answer per my posts question - I want my non-black comrades to know that it takes a lot of mental energy to make seemingly mundane decisions. It’s okay to ask why if you don’t understand, but I don’t want you to trivialize my concerns about safety.
What about you? Is there something you feel like gets taken for granted as a person of color in even leftist spaces? I know I don’t know the experiences of other marginalized groups as well as my own, and I’d like to have a conversation on how to be better with my peers.
