Member-only story
Race and Gender
We Are All Complicit
None of us want to make waves, cause trouble, or draw unwanted attention to ourselves. It comes back to haunt us, sometimes.
Time for staff meeting. I sat down at the conference table next to Sam. I was the only woman on the team; Sam was a Black man. All the other members of our team were white men.
When it came time for Sam to present his reports, our manager, George, grabbed the projector cord and tossed it, just a little too hard, across the table to Sam. “Plug ‘er in,” he ordered. In the same breath, George furtively glanced at me and said, in exaggerated tone: “With apologies to the feminists in the room!” He laughed, as if he’d told a funny joke.
The rest of us looked at each other, confused. What was George blathering about? Feminists in the room? I was the only woman in the room, and I was lost. Who was he apologizing to, and for what?
I think Sam got it before anyone else did. Head down, he focused all his attention on connecting his PC to the projector.
“What are you talking about?” I finally asked.
George grinned and enunciated, “I said ‘plug her in’…”
