Ninja-Death-Striking Stereotypes

I have a problem: I’m asian.

But you see, that shouldn’t be a problem.  But it apparently is.  And it makes me very, very sad.

And… angry… … just kidding.  A “story” after the jump.

My family just moved into a new neighborhood and we’re going through the typical “meet your neighbors” stuff.  One of the coolest things is that we were actually prayerful (this time) about where we wanted to live and part of the location was so that we could be as missional as possible with our neighbors.

Sure, we wanted some good amenities, a good price, etc, but those were not actually at the top of the list.  We wanted to be impactful, and we want to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

So, we chose a place 3 miles away from where I worked so that invitations to goto our Church wouldn’t cost an arm-and-a-leg in gas.

We’ve found that this particular community is what I would consider a “I am about to head to the geriatric-ward for management and support” community (gosh, that sounds mean, but it’s true).  Most of our neighbors are the elderly because this neighborhood has been around for a long time.

So………  Enter the-old-lady-who-drives-a-ford-taurus (tolwdaft for short).

I was walking to get my mail yesterday when I spotted her.  She had just gotten out of her car to get her mail.  Then, she saw me.  Visibly frozen for a second, I could see the mental cogs begin to turn as she began to calculate if she could get to the box, open it, grab the contents, and then run back before this ninja thug would loot her for all she’s got and her puppy in the back seat.

She made the call and dashed as only a true tolwdaft could.

I slowed down a bit but called out: “Hello!”

No response.  I tried again: “Hi!”

Nothing but a cold shoulder and apparently a renewed fervor to get her mail and bolt.

I thought I’d throw her a question (because I did actually have one): “Excuse me Miss? I have a quick question…?”

She, at this time, had managed to get one foot back into the car, peered over her shoulder with a look of paralyzed fear.  She, obviously out of breath, managed to snort: “I don’t have time, have to go, don’t have time.”

I asked anyway: “Excuse me, has the zipcode here in Alpharetta always been 30004?  or 30009?”

tolwdaft said: “Always 4″ and with that she hopped in her ford and drove like a bat out of h-e-double-hockeystick.

“WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED?!?” was all that I could muster.

And then it dawned on me.  Perhaps I’ve just been a victim of the asian/ninja stereotype.  I say “perhaps,” because it’s quite possible that I’m dead wrong and that I’m being oversensitive…

But that’s what happened.  Lesson learned.  But what to do now?  How shall I overcome this “potential” stereotype as being a scary asian man when I come in peace to deliver the best news on the planet?

Prayer is probably the best place to start (and some good old strategeryyyyy).

So, if you could pray for tolwdaft and that we can engage her wisely (for she is our neighbor) that would be great.

Have you ever been profiled, or something similar happen to you?  What did you do?