Let me tell you about Lorraine
I'm at the store. Standing in a line, waiting to check out. Groceries lay all about the belt. It has to be at least $180 of food. A woman stands in front of me. Shes colored. I'm white. Let me tell you her story.
Her name is Lorraine Brown. She's 37 years of age. When she was a little girl her father got arrested for things she would rather not say. Her mother was a single mom taking care of her and her younger sister. Her sister has yet to pursue college because she cant afford it. Lorraine managed to get student loans and grants. She worked hard and now is a registered nurse. A profession her mother used to enjoy before Lorraine was born and her husband went against the law.
Lorraine is just over a divorce with her husband who cheated on her multiple times. She's had 2 kids, just like her own mother when her parents marriage fell apart. Her oldest is her 18 year old son Jermaine. Her daughter is 15, but all the boys on her social media treat her like she's 20.
Lorraine is weary from struggling every day to make ends meet. She is weary from fighting demons of her past that make her scared for not only her future, but her children's. Lorraine is weary from people looking at her while she's a mess, and judging her without knowing what her story is. But most importantly, Lorraine is tired of something that has no right to be prevalent in today's society.
Lorraine steps up to the card reader to pay. The cashier looks up at her and asks, "are you using food stamps?" Lorraine looks up at her, confused and weary. "Why do you think that?" Everyone in line fidgets uncomfortably. We can all see a confrontation about to take place. Lorraine is praying a confrontation doesn't have to take place. That maybe her fears are not to be listened to this time and the cashier wouldn't say anything racist.
"Oh. No reason. I have to ask everyone that."
Lorraine sneered and sighed in dismissal. She knew that was a lie, because the two people in front of her never was asked that question. Funny enough, they were white too. But Lorraine finished her transaction and left. Hoping to God, that she wasn't judged due to the color of her skin.
No one knows who she is, what she's been through. All the money and effort she put into bettering her life from where she came. No one had a right to judge her except God himself.
It's my turn. The cashier greets me with a smile. "So what was that about anyway?" I asked, curiously.
The cashier responds "Oh she just wanted to be pissy with me because I assumed she had food stamps. I have to let people know..."
"Why did you assume that?" I pressed. It didn't make sense to me either.
"She looked the type. Will you be using credit or debit today?" The cashier asked.
"Oh no. I'm using food stamps."
Apparently, I don't look the type.
