Seinfeld, Party of Four!

I attended a small party at a condo in the Marina Del Rey area in Etobicoke. It was the kind of condo my Mom would love for me to have: new, clean, well-furnished, overlooking the lake and the Toronto skyline. Transit-wise, the Queen streetcar can take me into downtown Toronto in about 30 minutes. The neighbourhood was a little bare, populated by mostly new condos and townhouses, and older homes so a car is probably a necessity if you want to get around. As such, I'd probably want a more urban streetscape.

I disliked the area even more since transit was particularly slow that day. It essentially took me 2 hours each way to get here. So a total transit time of 4 hours to go to a 4-hour party did not endear me to return and visit the location.

I was waiting at around 11:00 pm for a streetcar; the one which was scheduled for 11:07 pm and did not appear until 11:35 pm ... followed by 2 other streetcars. This was mind-boggling as the Long Branch terminus, where these trams would have originated from, was only about 4 stops from my location. In any case, two Caucasian gentlemen in a sporty vehicle pulled next to my stop and greeted me jovially: "Haro! Hey, haro!" My mind drew a blank for a second, and then I thought amazedly, "Are ... are they mocking my [general] ethnicity?!" (For the record, Vietnamese have no problems pronouncing the "r" sound.)

I gave it no further thought, as I was preoccupied with cursing "The Better Way" for the rest of the evening. But later on, as I was walking home, I was a bit flabbergasted. In Toronto, one of the most multicultural cities in the word, in 2010, how should one react to such an unexpected and casual slur. Wasn't bigotry the more subtle kind now such as lack of political representation, work promotion, or "coded" words in discourse?

Coincidentally, at the party, a friend had related a story about her 2 years in Nigeria and her initial frustration at being referred to as "Jackie Chan" by every stranger she met. (I think she was equally offended by the name's masculinity.) Later, she grew a thicker skin and shrugged it off.

So I guess the lesson here is to be "above" these petty concerns and don't let it disturb your calm tranquility. How appropriate and timely! Ommm ....

Alternatively, if you are Asian and find yourself in a similar situation, you might also decide to pull the corners of your eyes tight, dance from foot to foot, and yell: "Jackie Chan! Jackie Chan!" Throw in a couple of "Ching Chong Ding Dong!" for variety.

So I guess the real lesson here is that there is more than one lesson to be learned from any story. So spake Confucius. Or something like that.

Ninja, Say What?