Go home with your turban!

For the 2nd time in my life, I was told to go “back home” today. As I pulled into a parking lot of a shopping centre with my family, a lady stood beside her vehicle smoking. I honked 3 times to alert her I was about to park when she finally forced a look back. She was rude. “Go! I’m right here beside my car.” “Don’t blame me if I hit you,” I retorted as I brought the car in. At that point, she got nasty. “Go back to where ever you came from and wear your turban,” and just like that, gave me the finger in front of my children. “Watch that cigarette lady.” “Oh I’ll watch it all the way to your car!” I parked my vehicle. We exchanged some words and then as I walked away, my son alerted me that she had actually thrown the cigarette at the car, just where my 2 year old daughter sat. I was appalled! I marched back to her vehicle. I took a quick look at my car window and lo and behold, there really was a cigarette mark with the fresh ashes still on the glass. I banged on her window. By this time, a man was in the drivers seat. He pointed at me and then dropped the windows. “You just threw a cigarette at my car.” “Yeah, and so?” “And so?! And so?!” My children were in the car at the time! The lady kept verbally assaulting me and then she stuck her head forward…and spat. I couldn’t help but fling it back. The male got out of the car at that moment and approached me. We had words and he grabbed the lady and put her back in the car. He never once apologized, his only concern was me “being rude with his lady.” They left. Another woman who saw the whole thing approached me. I can’t believe that disgusting behaviour…and swearing in front of such young children?! “They told me to go back home, I was born right damn here!” “Everyone is an immigrant.” “Got that right, the only people that deserve to be here are the natives rightfully if you wanna get into that nasty conversation.” “They don’t know better, what a shame…” And so the incident ended but did it? I was never taught to be racist by my parents, hard working honest immigrants from Pakistan. My dad coming here by chance for a better life, and who’s honesty, integrity and contribution to this country is a lesson for anyone to live by. The people in the parking lot were at least 10 to 15 years older then me which really shocks me. Makes me realize how fragmented and broken society is…not just from this incident solely but looking at the greater world. We are taught one thing in school, to love, help and respect but then when you grow up, the world around you tell’s you different. I guess you can only try to make things better but there’s got to be honest progress, not invisible progress, progress that looks like progress but just hidden and masked. Self-interest is rife starting with our politics right down to the individual. The picture can change though IF we truly care for the other. I believe that lady’s behaviour could have been different if the “system” was more about love and peace then about war and sanctions. It’s poisonous. It’s consuming all of us in some way. It puts you on edge. DEEP BREATH. I hope incidents like this are the end of something bad AND the beginnings of something good, something of awareness and respect for all kinds of people, and a way to respect peaceful differences…