When the thin white woman in the yellow dress asked me for another glass of wine, I thought I had not heard correctly, so I turned to her “excuse me” I said.  She held out her empty glass “I will have another glass of white wine please.”   As I felt my ire rising, my glare probably gave her the hint that I was not working but attending the same party as a guest.  I recently heard a similar story recounted of a black man standing in line at a dinner when a white woman behind him asked if there was more asparagus in the back.  Many are making assumptions that are not only ignorant but also inaccurate.

Everyday assumptions are made solely based on appearance, behavior or our own ingrained biases.   We have been given images  of blacks serving as maids, cooks, nannies and in the present day there are those that cannot see beyond and continue to believe what they have been fed.  Society judges all.  There is no escape no matter our race, sex, age, sexual orientation there is an assumption made about you.

I recently had a conversation with a friend regarding the appearance of three African American women.  She had seen the photo of these women and had assumed they were of a lower income bracket.  I thought it fascinating that from looking at only their manner of dress and their faces, she was able to make the assumption.  The women were not real they were pieces of art.  They were dressed in clothing one would wear in the privacy of their home amongst friends.  One of the women wore pink hair curlers that many of us wear every day.  I wondered had these women been white, would that same assumption had been made.  Did their skin color help make that assumption?

We all have been guilty of assuming based on our mental conditioning. It takes the ability to open a mind and an eye to look beyond what we think we see and know. I once had a friend who often said assume makes an ass of u an me.