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Classic Psrhea: They Just Don’t Know I’m There

Psrhea, , ,

A reprint from the groundbreaking Psrhea Magazine literary website.
This article saw first published in December 1996.

They Just Don’t
Know I’m There

Makes Me Wanna Hollar
by Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man

I am a taxicab driver in Sacramento. Individuals in customer service-oriented occupations deal with an eclectic array of people from all walks of life. It seems we cab drivers deal with the public’s more colorful personalities who, probably because they have nobody else, feel a need to express their frustrations to us as if we are their analyst – or worse, their bartender. Because I am a “virtually” invisible man, I get to hear what some customers wouldn’t divulge if they knew I was there. Here are a few examples…

I was called to a four-star hotel in midtown Sacramento to pick up a gentleman going to a private airport in the south. He was a middle-aged, white pilot from Kansas City in town to pick up an airplane and fly it back to Missouri. With a country twang we struck up a conversation about our respective cities and how much alike they were (If you’ve never been to Sacramento, understand that even though it is in California, it is less like its more flamboyant counterparts in the Bay Area and Southern California and more like middle America. In relation to Kansas City, it pretty much has the same population, same demographics, same social/political/economic attributes and attitudes). This customer seemed to be a very outgoing and eloquent man, and considering that he was only in town for a little over eight hours and really had no opportunity to see the town or speak in length with anybody else, I thought we had had a very enjoyable conversation (at least for two strangers whom had just met and only had about 12 minutes with each other).

Anyway, upon pulling into the small airport and being paid, I noticed that he was wearing a blue and white Kansas City Royals’ baseball cap. I commented to him that I have a Kansas City baseball cap, but not the Royals. In honor of my heritage and history, the cap I possess represents the red and white of the Kansas City Monarchs. You know, the old Negro League team that gave the world James “Cool Papa” Bell, Satchel Paige, Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks, Elston Howard, and Buck O’Neil.

Upon hearing this, the customer coolly and without hesitation responded, “Oh, Yeah, that’s that old Nigger League team!” (emphasis mine). And, without missing a beat, he seamlessly continued his thought without ever realizing the enormity of his statement. “They have Old-Timers day twice a year at Kaufman Field, and the Royals wear the old Monarchs uniforms. They are the most popular home dates on the schedule.”

I didn’t know whether this guy didn’t know he had said something baldly offensive or, me being very light-skinned, bald, and wearing a baseball cap, he simply didn’t know I was a member of the race he had just baldly offended. Either way, he just kept on talking about baseball. That is when I realized: Oh, that’s right, I’m INVISIBLE! To him I don’t exist, I’m just the entity that drives the car. So there’s nobody here to insult. With that epiphany, I stopped talking and listening. Not that he noticed; he just kept on glibly and lightheartedly chattering. Upon departing the cab, he cheerfully said, “Take care there, buddy. It was nice talking to you.”

About 5:00 AM on a dark winter morning, I was called to pick up at another four-star hotel just north of downtown Sacramento. The customer, another white male, was a resident of Sacramento having an overnight “tryst” at this particular hotel. Upon entering the cab and telling me of his destination, I asked him why he was calling a cab to take him home when he had driven himself here to the hotel – he was obviously not drunk, quite wide awake, but also quite sullen and upset.

“Oh, man, I was just robbed and had my tires slashed by these four niggers!” exclaimed my customer. I’d like to claim that it was because it was dark and that he couldn’t see that I was black, but that would be making excuses; whether he knew or not, he kept on talking. “That just ruined my fucking night, man. These spearchuckers just walked up to me as I was going to my car and asked me for a ride. Then they rolled me right there at my car in the parking lot, and then one took out his switchblade and slashed all of my tires. It’s bad enough that they robbed me, but why the fuck did they have to slash my tires?”

He continued like this for the entire ride – twenty minutes of having to listen to him rant and rave about his robbery and tires. I can understand why someone would be upset and frustrated at having gone through this, but it’s hard to feel sympathy for a “victim” when he blames his plight on the fact that the “perpetrators” are black, thereby blaming a race rather than the individuals who did this – and by extension, blaming me. But like I said, he probably didn’t know I was black – remember, I’m “INVISIBLE!” I said nothing the entire trip.

At the end, he wanted to tip me a couple of bucks, but I just took what was on the meter and gave him back his entire change. “You don’t want a tip, man?” he asked.

“Not from you…and I’ll let you figure out why.” I replied, as I jumped in my cab to leave. I’ve come to realize that you can really anger a customer if you give him/her back his/her tip.

Late one evening I was called to Oak Park, the predominantly ethnic section of Sacramento, to pick up a family at their residence. I pulled up to the front and went to the front door to let them know I was there (that’s right, I’m not afraid to get out of my car at night in the ‘hood, and it has nothing to do with the fact that I’m black). This very big, overweight black man answered the door and told me that he and his family would be out in a minute. I went back to my cab and sat there for over five minutes waiting for them. Now, our policy is that if we drivers are left waiting by a customer for a significant amount of time after they have been made aware of our presence, we can then turn on the meter.

So I did. A few minutes later the overweight black man came out to the car and got in the back seat. “Whassup, homes,” he said. “Yo, why the fuck is the meter on ?”

I told him that there is a wait charge and that I had not turned it on until only a few minutes ago.

“Aww, fuck this shit,” he screamed. “You gonna play a brotha’ like that, man? Whassup wit dat?”

I then told him that I have calls holding and that any wait time causes calls to wait. I then asked him if he was ready to go.

“Naww, man, we still gotta wait on my lady and child. You gonna cut us a deal, bro? You gonna give a brotha a break?”

Now I am not adverse to giving a customer a rate, but this customer had left me waiting with calls holding (and I was still waiting), and he still had not told me his destination, so a flat rate was not in the offing. I explained this to him.

“Man, fuck you, punk-bitch,” he yelled at me. “This is bullshit! Fuck you, niggah! You can’t even give a homey a break, bitch! ” At this time his “lady” and child got in the car, but he kept on screaming invectives at me. “You gonna play me like a punk? I’d beat da shit outta you. No, wait, I wouldn’t even beat da shit outta you, I’d bitch-slap you, punk! ”

It was like this the entire trip (only about five minutes, but having to put up with all his ranting made it seem longer), with his wife having never said anything. At the end of the trip he paid me and said, “Fuck you, punk! I want all of my fucking change, niggah-bitch! ” When I gave him his change, he noticed the Malcolm “X” hat I was wearing. “Get the fuck outta here, bitch! You shouldn’t even be wearing dat hat. You don’t even know what Malcolm was about. You a fucking embarrassment to the race, sellout!”

Never mind that Malcolm X believed in “cooperative economics” among blacks, not giving services away to the black community for free like this “customer” incorrectly thought. Well, at least he noticed that I was black. That I am a human being, well, that didn’t occur to him, so I just took his abuse like I just wasn’t there. Remember, I’m INVISIBLE!

What I just don’t understand is why I’m invisible in situations like those outlined above, but when I walk into a swanky four-star restaurant or an exclusive haberdashery I’m the most visible individual there? As if I’m going to rob them or “start some shit”, I’m being followed from the moment I walk in. I just can’t seem to control when I’m seen….

The Invisible Man is neither a movie creation nor Claude Rains. He was first publicly revealed through Ralph Ellison’s now-famous novel. He most recently was among the 600,000+ other obviously-invisible men that the Washington, DC Park Services failed to count during the Million-Man March.

Copyright 1996 Accurate Letters Enterprises/Psrhea Magazine

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Classic Psrhea: Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind

Politics, Psrhea, , , ,

 

This is the first in a series of reprints from the groundbreaking Psrhea Magazine literary website. This article saw first published in August 1996.

Out Of Sight,
Out Of Mind

Makes Me Wanna Hollar
by Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man

I was sitting outside the television station where I work, under a tree trying to shade myself from an oppressive early spring heatwave one afternoon. Cooling off on the lawn near the side door of the station, I noticed two co-workers walk out having a very quiet conversation. Both of them white, one female, they stole a quick glance at me and continued their conversation, oblivious to my presence. I could overhear them talking about an upcoming studio production they were planning, and the conversation turned to who they were considering getting to direct.

After bantering about a few names they would ask, my name was mentioned by the male. The female replied to her co-producer, “I think we can ask *&^%$#@ now if he’ll do it. I seem to recall seeing him here somewhere.” She and her partner then proceeded to glance around for me, remembering that I was outside the building yet not remembering where they had seen me just a few short moments before, and absolutely unconscious of the fact that I was right under they’re noses.

I waited a few precious seconds, while they just totally overlooked my plane of existence, before I spoke up. Taken aback by my sudden appearance, the male exclaimed, “Oh, *&^%$#@, there you are.”

Hide in plain sight – I am The Invisible Man…

…But I didn’t just get this way because of a lab experiment gone awry. I’ve been this way all of my life. I just wasn’t acknowledged until Ralph Ellison discovered me and gave countless others like me a life. I call it Invisible Man Syndrome – IMS for short. It is an affliction particularly characteristic to North America…

…You know us, the ones brought here centuries ago against our will, then cast aside as so much rubbish when we demanded recognition as human beings, with the right to participate in this society just like anybody else. Well, that is when we ceased to exist. Don’t acknowledge the problem and there is no problem —

…Out of sight, out of mind.

But it’s not just me and people like me. Ralph Ellison just scratched the tip of the iceberg when he discovered that it was sometimes convenient for society to think of me and people like me as invisible. Take a look around, though, and you discover that there are several subsections of the population who are not thought of.

Ever notice how it is that you never really hear about Native Americans much any more. This society has succeeded in putting them on reservations and isolating them from the rest of the world. So much so that Native Americans have the highest mortality rate of any group of people on this continent.

Did you know that? I’ll bet not…

…Out of sight, out of mind.

Ever notice how people avert their eyes when they see a homeless person, or ignore them when they ask for a little change? We then demand from our elected officials that we “do something about the homeless.” Not “something about the problem of homelessness.” We demand that laws be passed deterring the homeless from soliciting us, hoping that they will just go away…

…Out of sight, out of mind.

Ever notice how a neighborhood watch program will take a stand to drive the neighborhood crack house out of business, oblivious to the fact that the crack house has not been put out of business, they’ve just been driven into another neighborhood?…

…Out of sight, out of mind.

Same with prostitution. You never really get rid of it, but the police crack down on where they do business, and get enough of them off the streets long enough for a big convention to take place in the city. Then, as soon as said convention ends, back on the streets go the ladies of the evening…

…Out of sight, out of mind.

Recently, the “problem of the moment” has been homosexuality, same-sex marriages, and gays in the military. This would not have been a problem if those that think this is a problem had not been so concerned about what we do with our orgasms. Having concerned themselves with such high-minded things, however, they want to legislate them out of existence, claiming things “were so much better when they were in the closet…”

…Out of sight, out of mind.

When voicing this to a group of lunchtime friends once, a nearby eavesdropper — whom I’d never seen before, will never see again, and was neither directly nor indirectly a part of the conversation — felt it his “patriotic duty” to straighten me out by rudely interrupting my conversation with: “You know, you could be living someplace else like Iran or North Korea. You wouldn’t have the right to say any of this stuff. Is this the greatest country in the world?”

Perturbed, I looked up at the interloper and replied, “You know, this probably is, but that’s just like being the best player on the Los Angeles Clippers. When was the last time anybody mistook him for any good?”
* The title is borrowed from the book Makes Me Wanna Holler, authored by Nathan McCall of the Washington Post. We give credit where credit is due, and we certainly think that Mr. McCall’s book title certainly conveys how the author of this article feels about his subject matter.

Makes Me Wanna Holler is a regular feature of Pshrea, penned by a guest writer each month. The identity of the Invisible Man of the month will remain just that.

Copyright 1996 Accurate Letters Enterprises/Psrhea Magazine

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World Cup 2014 Semi-Finals

Psrhea, Sports

Some random observations after the Semi-Finals:

 

Brazil 1-7 Germany:  Without Neymar as the focal point of their attack, Brazil went with Bernard up front on the left, with Oscar in the center as the creative forward with the freedom to roam. Germany looked to change things up themselves, bringin in career goalscorer Miroslav Klose as the loan target man up front, pushing forward Thomas Mueller to the right flank and forward Mesut Oezil to the left. Also, Phillip Lahm was pushed back in his customary right fullback role, which allowed Bastien Schweinsteiger to come in as the holding midfielder. My guess is that, to deal with the world-class Brazilian wingers, Germany wanted a more natural defensive fullback than the four center backs they had been using up until now. Germany surprisingly allowed Brazil to dominate possession early, letting them build up an attack from the back. Of all the players to leave unmarked on a corner, Thomas Mueller is the wrong person. Gawd the Germans are expert at making that short combination passing in the box work to perfection. Brazil’s inability to close down the German attack and their disorganization in the midfield and the back allowed Germany to take advantage of spacing both in the center and on the flanks – and a Brazil team in shambles got throttled early. Against a team as great (usually) like Brazil, when you get them down for the count, you have to go for the jugular – and that’s exactly what Germany did. Most surprising was the play in the attacking end by Sami Khedira, usually a defensive/holding midfielder who went forward and literally toyed with the Brazilian defense. It was obvious that Brazil just mentally checked out; they played with no pride, conviction, or effort. German coach Joachim Loew made the mistake of bringing in Per Mertesacker in the center of defense for Mats Hummels, which gave Brazil a small glimmer of hope that they could take advantage of a weakness in the center of defense. Putting Lahm on the German right flank worked to perfection as he dispossessed and interrupted the Brazilian attack at every turn. A Master class by Die Mannschaft. It is hard to think of any championship-quality team that was ever embarrassed and humiliated like this.

 

Netherlands 0-0 Argentina (2-4 aet):  After yesterday’s semi-final destruction, both teams spent the first minutes of this game feeling each other out like cautious boxers, getting and maintaining possession, and building from the back, bobbing in and out of the attacking end. As usual, the Dutch still looked to make those long passes over the top of the Argentine defense to the front players. And as usual, when the Dutch were able to get Arjen Robben on the end of one of their long passes into the box, he looked to make a run at the goal by himself, regardless of whoever had him blanketed or what teammates may have been trailing into the attacking end. Closing down Lionel Messi was the primary goal of the Dutch midfield. Both sides had the flanks pretty well blanketed, although the Dutch were slightly better at switching play. Zabaleta did a good job of picking up the attacking slack on the flank with the absence of Angel di Maria. Way too cautious of a game all around, although Argentina did pick up the slack a little in the second half. The best scoring chance for either team came late in the game; for Argentina in the 90th minute, for the Netherlands in the 98th minute. This was by far the least productive game for both Robben and Messi, the stars scorers of both teams. Even without their defensive expert Nigel de Jong (substituted after 28 minutes due to injury), the Dutch were able to suffocate Messi. Argentina were anything but free-flowing this game, and they have yet to offer that truly convincing display in any match during this tournament. I could understand what Dutch coach Louis van Gaal was trying to do with his substitutes if they were actually trying to score, but I never got the sense that that’s what they were trying to do, so not having the ability to bring on his penalty kick stopping specialist Tim Krul late made no sense. While Messi has gotten all the attention, midfielder Javier Mascherana is quietly having the best tournament of any Argentine, throwing a wet blanket over any opposition attack that tries coming through the middle. The Dutch shut down Argentina and threw a sack over Messi, but they couldn’t do all that and still impose themselves upon the game as well.

 

– daveydoug