I feel uncomfortable at the thought of doing what I consider to be white people things, such as going to the country club for a round of golf, or attending an opera or classical music concert.
There's a reason that I and presumably many other people from ethnic minority backgrounds too would feel uncomfortable in those environments. They're designed and priced and gate-kept to ensure that people like us won't be going there very often. To start with, the fact that these places have a strict dresscode which is often based on traditional European aristocratic fashion. It's something very foreign to me, and even a little intimidating if I'm honest, the fact that I need to go rent or buy a whole outfit just for one specific occasion. And then there's the dining etiquette. You go to a high and mighty dinner and there will be like 20 forks, knives, and spoons each, and you don't know which one is supposed to be used for which dish. Motherfukker, I'm south Asian, and we eat damn nearly everything with our bare right hand. What the hell do I know about cutlery, except that its redundant and spoils the dining experience compared to using your right hand to feed yourself, the way nature intended.
These sorts of things are done by conscious choice to exclude people from different backgrounds. They're done to create safe-spaces for wealthy blue-blooded white people, so that they can easily see when someone doesn't belong in that environment and cast them out.
I really relate to that scene from the Wire when Major Colvin takes those kids to a fancy white restaurant and how uncomfortable the kids are in that environment. It's because they haven't been to a place like that before and they can sense the fact that the people who normally go there can tell that they're outsiders. It puts the kids on edge. They're not confident. They're worried about being exposed as not belonging there, and worried about embarrassing themselves.
Again, this is all by design. You go to a significant cultural event in my culture, or a west Asian culture, or an African culture, and they put on no airs. If people can tell you don't belong there in the sense that it's a new experience for you, they will come and help you out, they will put you at ease and make you feel more comfortable. European cultural events are the only ones I've been to where I feel like I'm being scrutinised to see whether I belong or not.
and I’ll continue to say it, sorry, not sorry. That other shyt u talkin isn’t considered “white people shyt”, never heard that in my life.
