I've lived in the Bay Area for 30 years (almost my whole life), and one of the things I've always loved most is how diverse it is. Growing up here, I appreciated being able to meet and connect with people from so many different backgrounds.
Lately, I've been wondering if something has changed - or if I'm just noticing things more as I get older. Over the past few years, I've experienced multiple instances of what felt like microaggressions or openly hostile interactions, and they've left me feeling sad and frustrated.
Yesterday at the Redwood City Costco, a few other customers and I gestured to a white woman with a shopping cart that we wanted to cross in front of her to get to the customer service desk. She paused for maybe a second to let us through - there were five of us (all people of color). As we walked by, she said loudly, "Once you let one through, 30 go through."
Maybe she was just annoyed about people cutting across, but the tone and the way she said it didn't sit right with me. By the time I processed what had happened, she was already gone, and I wished I'd said something.
This wasn't an isolated incident for me; it's one of several interactions over the past few years that have made me feel less welcome than I used to.
I'm genuinely curious: has anyone else felt like racism or xenophobia has become more noticeable in the Bay Area recently, or do you think people are just more on edge in general?