Aral Balkan
Yes, white guy, please tell me again how I’m white, just like you, when my elderly parents have only been able to visit us once in five years because of your racist policies.
Yes, white guy, please tell me how I have all the same privilege as you as I get placed in the Brown folks room at Brussels airport.
Yes, white guy, erase who I am and discount my lived experiences.
When they start rounding us up, be sure to put in a good word for me, won’t you? Y’know, since we’re both white and all.
Aral Balkan
@db0 Just one, as far as I know. It’s where the Brown folks are taken after being racially profiled at the border.
I was lucky enough to partake of its hospitality last year after attending a conference there.
db0
@aral There's a brown folks room in Brussels airport?!
Aral Balkan
@jamescrakemerani @db0 A policeman leads you out of the main area of the airport into the bowels of the airport where you get to sit with your own kind while they run lots of different checks.
In Brussels, they even had Belgian citizens of Turkish background in the room.
Visually, I stand out…
It’s funny how the airport police look at you as if you were hiding something by being white-passing, like you fooled them, when they see your place of birth…
James Crake-Merani
Aral Balkan
@jamescrakemerani @db0 … anyway, both times, in Brussels and in the US, after a while some higher-level guy came and got me. Special treatment for being white-passing. Both times they were very sorry I was taken there (US guy, “I’m not sure what happened. You should never been in that room.”) At least I was brave enough to tell the Belgian guy I knew exactly why it happened (racial profiling) and also why I was getting special treatment (because white-passing).
Aral Balkan
@jamescrakemerani @db0 So, being white-passing, you get to take advantage of white privileged to a degree. But you’re not white. And boy do they love to remind of that when it comes to the things that matter.
Aral Balkan
@greenWhale @db0 Don’t be ridiculous. You’re not responsible for systemic racism and some petty tyrant border-control guy.
But sure, drinks sounds good :)
💕
Vinnie (any)
@aral
I'm truly sorry my country isn't more enlightened and has treated you like that. If at all possible, I?ll?pay you reparations on your next visit in the form of drinks on me. 💚
Aral Balkan
@datafuzz Sorry that happened to you. But yes, there’s a reason I am very picky about visiting the US. It has to be worth the potential of being treated like you’re not human.
dataf#z̧̽̿̋̊̊̃ͨ̎̈́҉z̎̃ͦ̍͋͛̆ͯ͜
@aral even though i had been in the US several times and i had a student visa and i was just returning from the semester break and had a connection flight to my small college town, they held me 6 hours sitting no phone, eating or drinking allowed and released me at the exact time my plane took off. i had to sleep in the airport after a 10 hour flight plus 6 hour mandatory sitting. after that i was done with the whole US of A thing.
Aral Balkan
@jarno @jamescrakemerani @db0 Thanks. It happens. And way more often to folks who aren’t white passing. Just witnessed an Arabic guy with his elderly mother get racially profiled at Schipol the other week. It was embarrassing. For the Netherlands, that is.
Jarno
@aral @jamescrakemerani @db0 WTF. I'm sorry this happened to you. It's always worse than you think. Thank you for educating.
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