them

 

I was running late for work. It was raining and the traffic was snarled. I had even jumped off one bus onto another route in the hope that it would be quicker.

Slowly I realised that my bus, the one I had just caught, was sitting there, idling. I looked at my watch and made tutting sounds, looked out the rear window to see if another was coming. Still the bus sat. I guessed it was running fast so the driver had decided to wait. then I realised a woman who had been rummaging in her bag, thrust her bus pass at his window and he cranked into first gear. She was black. The driver was white. I read the situation in those terms.

Normally a driver will continue on his route while someone finds a pass or money. I assumed he did it to humiliate the woman and punish her with the wrath of the passengers. I understood it as racist - though of course it might not have been. He might have been a prick to anyone...

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