Filed under: notes
I’m always up for a good tampon story, particularly one that involves a Mormon feminist being exhausted after a long day at work.
Needless to say, my normally cheerful disposition was somewhere else, possibly with the back door key. Suddenly–and I swear they materialized out of the polluted mist–about 8 very large black men surrounded me. I mention race not because it initially intimidated me (I’d read all sorts of stuff about how crime rarely crosses racial barriers) but because the men kept calling me “white girl” while they shoved me back and forth between them like a wind-up car that hits one wall and then just changes direction. While pushing me and calling me things I won’t repeat, they informed me they were going to take my purse. They didn’t rip it away–just tugged on the strap and shoved me.
Like I said, I felt tired and cranky. If I’d been smart I’d have just handed over the purse and tried to run for it while they looked for money. Instead, all the humiliation of the last 10 minutes, my headache, the @#%$^& missing key, and my ridiculous embarassment at being white converged on a point of utter bitchiness. I stomped my foot, held the purse out in front of me, and yelled, “FINE! IF YOU WANT A BAG FULL OF TAMPAX, BE MY BLOODY GUEST!”
The men took literal steps backwards. They held up their hands, as though my purse contained a gun. About half of them looked at their feet. I shook the purse at them again and made a “Hmmph!” noise. Finally, the guy who I guess was the leader looked me straight in the eye, gave me a big grin, and said, “You’re a cool white girl. We’ll walk you to your door.”