Dude, I am very sorry for you. It’s unfair and bothering and some people are stupid. In the meantime, I have had the reversed experience with American black people. I am universalist and met a woman who was like screaming over all roofs that she is “african american”. She said she’s black and started every phrase with “as a black woman, …” everytime we were discussing about everything. She had just a black grandmother and looked like a portuguese or other mediterranean (I live in Europe). She reduced all discussion to racial discrimination. Her bf dropped her? He’s racist! She doesn’t find a job? It’s because people are racists! Dude, as said, most people here wouldn’t even have an idea she had a black grandmother.
I’m not trying to trivialize or mock your experience, and I’m deeply sorry that this happened to you. Being stereotyped is one of the most shitty experiences. I’m just saying that seeing from outside the USA, americans are among the people most obsessed with the idea of “race” and THIS is absolutely irritating. For the rest - you might have met real idiots, or maybe just ignorants who consider Black = Africa. It is not supposed to happen in multicultural countries or those who have colonies, but I am coming from an eastern european one, and there, people seeing a Black or an Asian have a reaction of curiosity and stupour. Which is stupid, I reckon, but not everytime ill intended. More multiculturalism should help people be used to the fact we are not all looking the same, but it’s a long way to go. I hope these bad experiences haven’t obliterated your apetite to travel and discover the world! <3
I am a European asperger and to me it’s hard concentrate on some aspects. Which makes life in US unbrearable. Like :
- seeing prices in malls without VAT. I want to calculate my expenses near to one cent. I would go mad to do rocket science every day I do shopping. I want to know PRECISELY if I’ll pay 30 dollars or euros or 31 or 29. Sometimes I go shopping with 30 euros in my pocket and I want to fit in it. When the cashier tells me it’s 30,31 it’s a heartstroke.
- the same about tips. I don’t want to leave any fucking tip. A tip is to me an extraordinary prividge I give to someone serving me if I think service was really efficient and cool. I prefer to eat in an expensive restaurant and pay no tip than in a poor restaurant paying tips. Besides, I think tip culture is really slavery cautioned by social norms.
- US is to me diehard KKK against cretin woke playgound. Fight me. I don’t need this toxicity - neither on a side, neither on the other. I just want NOT MINDING about such things as race, sex, gender, and shit like this, I want to be free to live my life and respect and love all people forgetting details, concentrating on what and who they are, not the color of their ass or how offended they are.