"Caitlyn?"
"It is I."
"My friend, Caitlyn. I am very happy to see you. How are you this evening?", my tipsy Uber passenger said as if he was an old friend who hadn't seen me in 10 years.
"I am doing well, very chill. Just trying to make back the money I spent on Christmas gifts, you know."
"Oh yes…yes yes…so what do you do other than this? You must do other things you are passionate about?"
"You're right, I do many other things. This is just a money thing with some added benefits of talking to other humans."
I go on to explain my endeavors and what I am passionate about.
He explains his endeavors and what he is passionate about.
We transition into talking about the holidays and how important our grandparents are to us.
He explains he will not be able to see his family because traveling is difficult for him.
I ask, "Are you visiting or..?"
"I live here, but I am not from here. Guess where I am from... (I laugh nervously at his challenge) Just guess."
"Is this some kind of fun game you play with Americans?"
"No no… maybe… but now I realize I ask this often and it might be true. But it's fun! Just try and guess. People are often wrong and I am curious."
"Ummm…. You don't look Iranian but close… You're from Saudi Arabia?"
"WHAT? Girl. Do you know me?"
"Ha! I assume this means I am right?"
"How did you know? You are brilliant. No one ever guesses the first try. I don't even have a strong accent!"
I try to explain my thought process, "I guess…I imagined the faces and voices of people I personally know or who I have seen and narrowed it down?"
"Wow. I am impressed. Most people…most people just guess random countries in the middle east."
"Most people meaning Americans?"
"Well, yeah. Most people I meet here are not paying attention to details and they generalize middle eastern nationalities because…well, you understand why."
"Yes, unfortunately I do.
"I guess I play this silly 'game' because I am waiting for people to guess correctly. You won! You are very smart, and kind. You know, I have lived in West LA for many years working at the consulate and most people are still afraid to speak to me. I have come to realize that social media is the issue. People share information that creates a stigma around middle eastern people, for the obvious reasons and the not so obvious. It is rare people look me in the eyes or pay attention to details about me because they subconsciously act like I am not in their bubble. It's 2017 and it's worse than ever. But what I tell myself is, only my God can judge me in the end."
"That is wise. It is simply fear. It is irrational and unnecessary, but it exists. I am sorry that people project that onto you. You definitely exist! I see you."
We laughed.
He asked for my number, I gave it to him.
He told me to dance and sing with my family on the holidays on his behalf.
I told him I definitely would.
In honor of my tipsy political scientist gem of an Uber passenger last night, I am sharing a story on social media in an effort to shift the perspective of what we consciously and subconsciously share about people from the middle east. Islamophobia is still very much alive, even in "progressive" Los Angeles.