When Will It End?

(I'm back from an extended hiatus. My appologies, life has been busy of late.)

OK, I have a beef with a faction of the 'crown jewel of Omaha', and for once I can't blame it on Roger Dixon. Well, maybe I could... but I'm willing to bet this one is not of his doing.

Sunday was UNO Hockey's Red-White scrimmage. I was present at the scrimmage, actually working for the team-- they contract out to UNO-TV for help shooting game films for scouting and coaching breakdown. The event was not an official event, so there were no credentials for us to show.

I arrived at the same time as my boss. We entered through the media gate, and had no problem gaining access. A co-worker, Joey, arrived a short time later, and also had no issues gaining access to the building. But when Cody arrived, the security guard at the media gate wouldn't permit him access.

Apparently Cody had been there at least ten minutes when we just happened to be going past the gate while setting up the video feed to the scoreboard. And all Cody could say to us was "they won't let me in."

Why does this have my ire? I'm sure you could have guessed it-- Cody is black. I should also point out that the security guard who permitted me access was not the same security guard who hassled Cody-- so it is very possible that this was the case of somebody, new to the job, going strictly by the book.

Unfortunately, I'm drawing a few assumptions from this. First of all, Cody is a nice guy, and certainly not intimidating in his presence (if you've met him, you'd see he's a studious type, not someone who looks like he would cause trouble). But when the security guard opened his mouth, I drew a stereotypical assumption. The security guard, named Tony, had a very heavy New Jersey accent. OK, I was quick to judge. But then it hit me-- during this whole situation, he kept asking Cody for his credential... he NEVER ONCE asked my boss or myself for our credentials (which we did not have).

The situation diffused itself when the first security guard came back from his break, and without hesitation allowed Cody to enter the building. My boss did, however, offer a parting shot for Tony-- asking if there would be a problem when two other workers (both black) arrived. Tony had no response, but the other security guard said "there won't be".

I would like to point out that these security guards are not Qwest Center employees. They are respresentatives of Silverhawk Security. So, I really can not pin this one on the reign of Dixon.

However, I would like to know when this shit will end. Why is it so hard for people to get past what someone looks like? Seriously, I would like to gouge out the eyes of some of these people so they couldn't see the differences of people.

But here's the worst part. While talking to Cody, I told him I was impressed with how he handled himself through this-- he was very calm, and seemed to take it better than my boss and I did. Cody's response: "I'm used to it by now."

How sad for us. How sad for this country founded by a bunch of political, religious, and social rejects. You'd think we'd know better by now.