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Both lifts were out again last night and the usual flotsam of elderly people were waiting by the lifts on the ground for the repair men to turn up. A middle aged or youngish man came striding out of the stair area and called out to a frail Bengali man that he should walk up. "Afterall he's only on the 1st floor."

It was an attack on the man. That was obvious. This guy hardly speaks English and is really quite frail - and anyway, logically he would walk up if he could. It's not particularly fun waiting around in the lobby area.

I answered the receding back of the man, that the guy is old and that I hope someone shows him pity when he's old.

I include this here because, though there was no obvious racist motive for the hostile quip to the old Bengali man, I know this white guy would never have been so hostile for no reason to just any old white elderly person. It was directed at this guy, in particular, I believe. He doesn't speak much English and he wears traditional clothing. In fact, he reads as someone who is quite religious, but I don't know really know. I speak to him just a bit.

I don't really know why I answered for the guy except that I was already speaking to him when the white guy came out of the stairwell, so it was almost addressed to me as well.

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