Experiencing Prejudice as a WWAM

We were helping our neighbor move from her apartment near us to another one in the same complex and she had one of her old friends unpacking her kitchen for her while the rest of us worked on bringing up boxes from the Uhaul. We are going to call our neighbor Tammy and her friend, Jane.

Jane asks what nationality Jordan is and I say like I normally say “He’s Jamaican.” She said “No way. I don’t see it.”

It was heartbreaking to hear her say that since the stereotype is that all people from Jamaica have dark skin or look like Bob Marley reincarnations. My fiancé got upset because once again he must explain that Asians live in Jamaica and that he truly is Jamaican.

So Tammy and I leave to get more things out of her apartment and Jane corners my fiancé. She asked him if he had internalized racism because he was dating a white woman. She asked him if he thinks that black women are beautiful too.

He said “Yes but I am in love with who I am in love with. Race or color should not even be considered when it comes to love!”

She asked him if he felt “pressured to love me because she is a white woman and that he benefits from white privilege?” She started to get defensive and started talking about how she didn’t mean any offense.

I sympathize with every race that has been a target by white people but I am not going to sit back and allow my fiancé to deal with the prejudice here in the states because of my skin color.

I then asked Tammy if she thought it was okay that him and I were dating and she said “Yes you are not like a normal person in this world and if you are happy then great!” I believe she was trying to tell me that I was not like a normal white person.

This is a very difficult topic to talk about because it is very sensitive right now. I would not sit back and allow anyone of any race to deal with racism or prejudice towards them. It was not okay and we haven’t spoken to Tammy or Jane since.

Have you had similar experiences? Let us know in the comments!