I appreciated Shari’s article, “Idiotic Questions,” on stereotyping and racism. I related to their experiences as a person of color who was also subjected to offensive stereotypes. As a child, I used to laugh off others’ rude “jokes” about my ethnicity, accepting that it was just the way it was. Shari wrote, “You shouldn’t need me to tell you that if you think a question will hurt my feelings, you probably shouldn’t ask it.” Prior to reading this essay, I could never really put into words how it felt when someone asked a blatantly racist question. I felt like this quote really summarizes how ignorant people who ask these questions are.
Even though I am more aware of my mistakes for tolerating such idiotic questions, sometimes still don’t speak up even when I know I’m being insulted. It might just be the environment and people I grew up around, but I still find it difficult to come up with a response that truly expresses how I feel. I related to Shari’s statement, “I saw this coming - I always do, but it feels like it takes me hours to come up with a civilized response.” I would like to thank them for writing this article and showing exactly how it feels to be racially stereotyped.