It is around 8 a.m. and I am walking the dogs near the Highland Park Whole Foods.
I come across an older woman in a track suit.
Blanche Devereaux: “Are those your dogs?”
Me (Taking off my headphones): “Pardon me?”
Blanche : “The dogs. Are they yours?”
Me: “Um, yes…”
Blanche: “Well they are just lovely! Have a good morning walk.”
Blanche then gets into a waiting town car.
Later that day, I tell one of my neighbors about the encounter, and she is horrified.
Jill: “That’s terrible!”
Me: “Why? She was perfectly nice, I just thought it was an odd question…”
Jill: “You know that’s a microaggression, right? She thought you were a dog walker!”
Me: “That’s hilarious, and strangely appropriate for the neighborhood.”
Highland Park is only a few blocks from my apartment building, so I walk my dogs there often. The neighborhood is a beautiful place for a walk because of the ample parks and gaudy mega mansions.
A fountain in Highland Park.
Some serious landscaping in front of a home in Highland Park, Dallas, Texas.
I frequently walk past other minorities on these dog walks and casually assume that they are workers and not Highland Park residents. Sure, it is fairly easy to make that assumption based on a construction hat or landscaping uniform, but what about the (mostly Hispanic) women who I assume are nannies and housekeepers?
They could be just another millionaire homeowner.
But it’s not likely:
Racial and Income Statistics for Highland Park, Texas.
I am not offended by Blanche’s assumption that I am a hired dog walker because it was a reasonable assumption given my disheveled appearance and the demographics of the neighborhood.
I also can’t fault Blanche because I make the same race-based assumptions about the people that I pass. Until there are more than a handful of minority residents in a neighborhood, we are all going to be pegged as hired help (either consciously or not) because that is a reasonable assumption to make.
It’s like me being pegged as a tourist in Beijing.
And heck, at least Blanche asked.
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