I was racially profiled!!!!

[Benton]

(08-25-2017, 10:09 AM)PhilHos Wrote: In order to get a clear picture, let me give you a reminder that I am a 6 foot tall white male that is overweight (basically, I'm a taller version of Kevin James). I also sport a thick mustache-goatee combo and while I normally have a buzz cut, I'm in need of a hair cut (so think thick).

Now, my wife and I only have one car between the 2 of us, so she normally drops me off at work. More accurately, she drops me off at the gas station near my job so I can buy a drink and lunch for work and then it takes me about 5 minutes to get to work from there.

This morning my wife drops me off, I get my usual BBQ Pringles and a 1-liter of Mountain Dew and head to work. As I cross one of the streets, I find myself a black guy in a black, long-sleeved hoodie with the hood up. So I'm following this guy as we're heading in the same direction and I notice he keeps looking back at me. The first time I paid no mind thinking he probably sensed me and just was checking to see if a person was behind him. But, then he is constantly glancing back at me and I'm starting to get annoyed, like what? I work at a bank, so I have to dress professionally and though it's Friday and I don't wear a tie, I'm still dressed in a polo shirt and khakis (think Jake from State Farm but a black shirt and green khaki pants).

We get to the next corner and he stops and I continue on and turns out, he's not black but hispanic! (He did have a rockin' mustache, btw.)

Now, I honestly don't believe I was racially profiled (Hah! Gotcha with my clickbait title!). I did find it interesting, though, that I apparently disturbed this guy enough for him to keep glancing back at me. It's not like he was walking so slow that I would be expected to pass him. And it wasn't like he was speed-walking and I was keeping pace.

Thoughts on why this guy was bothered by a tall, fat, white man with a goatee?

1- To the bold, the latter begets the former.
2- The guy probably wouldn't have been so nervous if your junk hadn't been hanging out of your pants.
3- I actually had a few similar experiences the last couple weeks. I do some of our high school sports reporting. Fall sports start in August when it's 160 degrees, so I usually shave my head the first couple weeks so I'm not standing on the sidelines dealing with wet old guy hair.

I didn't think anything about it... except I've made two trips to St. Louis this month, same time as the monument stuff and Nazis. For those unfamiliar, St Louis has a diverse population. When I was out with my wife and daughter, no big deal. But whenever I ran to a gas station or was wandering around Dave & Busters looking for a restroom, I noticed I got a lot of stares. I thought about getting my press pass out and pinning it on my shirt, but I don't know what this country hates more at the moment, Nazis or journalists. Which is comically sad.