On today’s walk I stopped for a bowl of soup at a rest stop (oh, there was such a bounty of food today, compared to yesterday).
As I finished eating and was about to leave, a retired turnip farmer sat down next to me. We ordered another round of tea and began chatting. Partway into the conversation he asked me if I was Muslim. I said no. He said if you were Muslim, you could stay here (presumably he meant the rest stop).
I immediately felt rejected, and I began to buy into the message I’ve been hearing since the beginning of the walk — that I would find that people are less welcoming as I move east.
However, I am not finding that to be true. In the past few days I have been turned down exactly once for my religious beliefs, and I have been offered places to stay four times.
It is my nature, as it is for many, to remember instances of rejection more vividly than instances of acceptance.
That is my nature. However, it is my job to overcome that nature.
Prejudice does not have a profile, prejudice does not have a profile, prejudice does not have a profile. Repeat to self over and over as necessary. If reality is showing prejudice does not have a profile, I do not want to allow myself to think that it does.
Editorial comment: if that guy had been listening to what god tells him, not what others seem to have told him god tells him, he wouldn’t have considered my religious background relevant to my need for shelter.