I’m Prejudiced
For a while, I’ve been debating with myself the pros and cons of the two routes I can take to get home. They’re about the same distance but one takes you through the little carribean (nostrand) and the other takes you through jew town (kingston). I’m sort of paranoid walking down nostrand because sometimes there’s this black homeless guy who asks me to buy him baby formula while eating exotic fruits. He never recognizes me and when I remind him that I didn’t buy him the 15 dollar baby formula, he says “that hurt me bad.” Walking down kingston I often get asked if I’m a jew. I always say no, but I think about half of them probably know and judge me for it anyway. I met the rabbi of the youth center near my apartment and when I told him I wasn’t jewish he shook my hand for too long and gave me a sort of half-Larry-David once over. Anyway, I was walking home the other day, somewhere in between the two streets when I saw three hasids and two black dudes playing basketball. It was like the neighborhood was telling me “You, Simon, are the fuck.” Apparently everyone but me has come a long way since the Crown Heights riots.