BT gave me a look of incredulity last night when I shared some of the anecdotes from this website where an African-American in the JET program regales us with a few eye-openers.

from Protecting The Merchandise, …and then when the conversation ended…he started trying to lunge for my stuff. …he was particularly motivated, and actually came at me pretty hard. I had to catch both his arms, and with those restrained he tried TO USE HIS KNEES TO GET A FEEL. …I decided to try and reason with him. “Why do you wanna touch that? Don’t you like girls?” I said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. His response? “Lemme touch it! It’s big right? I bet you it’s big!” He then turns to the English teacher, a Japanese man in his mid-thirties, for confirmation. “It’s big, isn’t it?” My teacher’s response? “Please don’t compare him to us Japanese guys.”

I remember several years ago — in my wild and crazy days — taking a Xanax© before a live concert. I was soon standing in the bright daylight wearing only my boxers and shoes, completely mellow to the cacophony of Lolapalooza (III, I think it was.) As the Xanax© waned I made it to the mosh pit and ended my evening in syncopation with the final band, mud up to my knees.