Shirt, tie & name badge at that. The whole "white lady jumping like I'm Freddie Kruger when I exit the elevator" shtick is getting old now. I'm pretty-much limited to certain social situations to be able to express myself as a sexual being, otherwise I'm treated like some scheming harasser. If I speak at my normal voice (I'm 6'6" 200, so I naturally have a deep, loud voice) people get nervous or scared like I'm yelling in anger.

It's frustrating, because no matter what *I* do personally or professionally, I still get treated by people that haven't known me for a while like a shiftless black man.


I should note that none of these things really happen in the mostly-black neighborhood I grew up in... It's actually the opposite there.

Also, I should note that this affects me personally far more than it does professionally. Hard work & talent still matters in the workplace.