I done been slapped by the cruel hand of discrimination.

On the subway home Monday, some passengers and I were victims of discrimination (they were just as outraged as I was, I'm sure). I sit down and start playing solitaire on my iPod when the woman across the aisle hands the person next to me a leaflet. This, of course, made me want to know what leaflet I believed I was going to decline taking within the next 30 seconds, so I glanced up and saw the book she was reading:


The line that's cut off says in Mind. Sorry, it's the best photo I could find on this here Interweb. Sidebar: Is that Wentworth Miller on the cover? If so, I'm definitely converting.

Anyway, I was expecting to be handed MY leaflet in the next few seconds, but no leaflet came. I looked up out of the corner of my eye to see what was going on, and the woman was just reading her book, minding her own business. "Maybe that was her last leaflet," I think.

WRONG.

No sooner did the thought leave my mind and she gave a leaflet to the guy standing next to her. AND she pulled an entire stack out of her bag. Why wasn't she attempting to save ME (or most of the other people on the train for that matter)? It wasn't until she handed out her third, fourth, and fifth pamphlets that I recognized the common thread between those she was reaching out to: they were all African-American. THE INJUSTICE OF IT ALL. At this point, I caught her eye and gave her the New York half-smile (you can't give a full smile to a stranger in New York without reason unless you want people to think you're a nutjob). Not even that little acknowledgement got a leaflet out of her. Clearly, I am unworthy of salvation because I'm white!

Or that woman was just incredibly perceptive and sensed my shriveled, black heart of tar was a lost cause.