White People Can be Racist to Other White People
…simply because “white” doesn’t mean “Caucasian.”
A lot of what your wife went through I can relate to as the white husband of a Slavic woman. I had some experience seeing racism close up having black and brown friends and girlfriends in Texas, where I used to live. I must admit though that I was surprised when my (then girlfriend) told me about the racism she experienced all the time here in cosmopolitan Vienna, Austria. I could see the racial differences between us, but she’s a blue-eyed white woman, FFS, how could white people be racist against another white person? Yes, I was once a doe-eyed innocent. If people want to find a way to be racist, they will be!
Here in Central Europe, Slavs are seen as 2nd class citizens, particularly women. Similar to how Latinas are seen in Texas. Pretty Slavic women are either whores or cleaning ladies, all of them looking to “score” a white, western husband. Several Austrian ex-friends made it clear that my hot girlfriend was great for “having fun with” but definitely not marriage material. My low point came when we were invited to a (now ex-) friend’s party several hours away (requiring an overnight stay) and at the party there was “no room” at the main table for my date to sit with me. To my everlasting shame I did not tell the host to fuck off and walk out. My wife made the best of it and had a great time with the kids she was seated with in another room of the mansion. I didn’t want to see it because it would have been a huge blow-up hours from home.
Reality hit me by chance twice within a few weeks not long after “the party incident” that made it clear the racism here is real and not imagined. We were downtown and went into Dolce & Gabbana just to look around. By chance we walked in and separated almost immediately. I was approached by someone asking if they could help me. I declined. I turned around to find my wife who was looking at some item. Another employee walked up to my wife, looked her up and down disapprovingly and said, “May I help you?” in a tone that clearly said, “You don’t belong here. You should leave.” I was stunned as the tone and attitude were 180° off from what I had just experienced from the other employee 30 seconds prior and 4 meters away. Note that we were dressed just like the other patrons. Neither of is Austrian, but if I don’t speak much you wouldn’t know it.
A few weeks later we were in Venice and went into a store with horse-riding apparel. Again, we were in separate areas of the store looking at items. Again, I was politely approached and asked if I needed help. Again, my wife was approached, profiled, and found wanting. My wife ignored the look she was receiving and asked about riding boots. The clerk paused, pursed her lips, told my wife she would need to check, but to stay there and not touch anything. We were stunned. We looked at each other and said, “Fuck it, we’re outta here.”
I know my experience is anecdotal, but I could write for hours aobut the different experiences my wife has described to me since she arrived in Vienna, as well as other joint experiences we have had, and those of other foreign friends (particularly another very pretty Slavic woman I know).
