Hi there.
He owns a gas station and garage in Yonkers by the Cross
County Mall. I visited him last week as
my car needed its NYS inspection done.
While there, I noticed a white lanky guy in his 20s waiting for his car, which was being
worked on in the dock. On the back of his
car was an offensive sticker (see below).
The irony was not lost on me. Ali, the mechanic working on both our cars,
is Muslim.
As a feminist, I can’t help but to notice these things on
a regular basis. The problem is I don’t always know what to do. Should I approach the owner of the car and
ask him about his sticker? Should I tell
him I am offended? If I did, would that
offer any valuable impact or result?
I decided to make mention to Ali in private that bumper stickers are pretty interesting. He then took a look at my “Proud to be a Feminist” sticker, and then glanced over to the other car. His eyes locked on the anti-mosque sticker and smiled.
After a few moments, he asked the young man what was the
meaning behind that sticker. The young
man turned bright red and said it was nothing.
“It’s just a joke” he added. Ali
asked the young man how he would feel about an anti-church sticker. He asked him if that would be funny.
The young man sheepishly grinned and said, “No.”
At the register, Ali thanked me for bringing his
attention to the sticker. He had known
this young man for over 14 years, “…since before 9/11.” He told me that just after 9/11 his gas
station (in Yorktown Heights) was trashed by several drunk white men screaming
that they were protecting “their” country.
He added that he shared this information with this young man, when they
were both much younger, and the blond white lanky boy shook his head because he
couldn’t understand why people were so hateful.
As our conversation ended, I was grateful that my car passed
inspection. I paid my bill and drove off
to the Bronx imagining, or hoping, that Ali and this young man will now have
more conscious dialogue about the effects of racism, all because of a sticker
and a feminist.
