February 17, 2006

Three things I an NOT allowed to Appropriate

While waiting for a friend at a store, I started chatting with two African-American women who worked there. They chat with each other about colleges.

Woman 1 “Yeah, I’m going to College A. It’s ok.”
Woman 2 “I went there for a little while. Then I tried College B. But, you know, those HBCs are just not as good as white schools. Underfunded, always struggling. I had to leave and go to College C. College A is really bad though. You should get out of there.”
I interject: “HBC?”
Woman 2: “Historically Black College.”
Me: “So, that’s a phrase I probably shouldn’t start using, right?
Women start laughing. “Definitely not.”
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This one occurred during dinner with two Korean friends. Bossy came here when she was little and has no accent. Naive came when she was 10 and has a rather thick accent, but is comfortable with American culture and fashion.

Bossy: “You know that guy; he’s the one who’s really FOBBY.”
Naive: “He’s not that bad.”
Bossy: “Well, of course you think that, you’re FOBBY yourself!”
Naive: “But not like him. I'm not that bad. He wears FOBBY clothes.”
I interrupt: “Um… what’s FOBBY?”
Bossy: “Oh, Fresh Off the Boat.”

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Gay friend was bemoaning the need to go to a plate decorating party to celebrate a friend’s civil union. His friends wanted people to come to a pottery glazing thing and glaze a plate for them. My friend needed ideas for how to design his plate. I’ve learned with various design clients that you never offer a suggestion without collecting more data.

Him: “I know them. If they don’t like it, they won’t use it. They’ve only invited artistic friends so the pressure is on!”
Me: “Well, have you been to their house? What’s the décor like?”
Him: (snorts) “They’re Lesbians. It’s flannel.”

1 comment:

OTRgirl said...

But it seems like you talk mostly about your own experience? My thought is that as long as you aren't trying to tell someone else's story, and have respect for the story you are telling, it's ok? But I've been in trouble for that, so take it with a grain of salt...