A Manicure with a Side of Racism

I was supposed to have lunch on post Friday with My Husband’s troop but not a lot of people showed up so he told me not to bother.  I had already cancelled my standing weekly appointment with my therapist, so I found I had a few hours free.

I’m a nail biter but I’m vain enough to leave them alone when they’re pretty, so I decided to go get a manicure.  I headed over to the nail place in our local Wal-Mart (so I could get milk too) and chose O.P.I.’s “Red My Fortune Cookie” and took a seat.

This particular salon is run by a Vietnamese family.  Everyone who worked on me made very polite conversation.  In one lull in the chatter I was subjected to an example of racial stupidity I haven’t seen in a while.  A 50ish woman at the station behind me was having her purple talons accented  with flowers or something foolish.  She was attempting to make small talk with her manicurist; a girl who’s English wasn’t so stellar.  The woman noticed the girl’s Board of Health Certificate posted on the wall and made a half-hearted attempt to pronounce her name (by the way, it was Ngo Thien Vu) and then asked, “Have you chosen an American name for yourself yet?”

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!  First of all, our language is not American, it’s English (would you ask a Sean from Ireland if he’s "chosen an American name yet?") and just because you can’t pronounce the name someone’s mother gave her, you small-minded Midwestern bitch, doesn’t mean she should pick an Anglo one you can.

This poor manicurist just muttered no, to which the woman knowingly replied, “It’s a hard decision to make.”

I can’t stand this “White America” anti-immigrant assimilation bullshit.  The national language of the United States is English, so as long as one can handle Basic English (or have someone who can translate readily available) I have no issues with maintaining one’s culture.  Of course, this also means American travelers should stop running around foreign countries obnoxiously shouting “CAN…YOU…UNDERSTAND…ME?” at the top of their lungs.

As soon as my appointment ended I got the hell out of there before she could ask if having "slanty eyes" impairs your vision or something.  I can only take so much bigotry in one day.