How are you this angry and living at a home called 'Yoga Whole'?
Owning a dog while black and the random racial profiling that comes with it
When the story of Amy Cooper and Christian Cooper came out, all I could do was shake my head. Even as a dog lover, in his defense, not everybody likes dogs. If someone asks you to leash your dog to stay away from him, I 100% get it. By now, we know how that story ended — and in Central Park of all places. (At least he got a bird-watching show after that insanely stressful ordeal.)
Recommended Read: “Dog owner racially profiles black man, abuses her own dog ~ Yet another dishonest 911 call risking the life of a black man”
In my case, I deal with random outbursts about dogs in reverse, and 99.9% of the time I’m minding my business and just existing. Mind you, my favorite clients on dog walking, dog boarding and dog sitting assignments have all been white, so I don’t want to turn this into a “white women always harass black dog owners” or “white men always harass dog owners” post.
But there is a very specific subpopulation that genuinely feels entitled to every single dog they come across, and it really seems like they have a bone to pick with black dog owners. When I’m not demanding someone move their hand away from my dog without asking if it’s OK to pet her or darting away from them getting far too close (black people know this as “Can I touch your hair?” energy), I’m ignoring unsolicited narrations about what my dog is doing as though my eyes and ears don’t work. Even my veterinarian, also a white woman, is way more chill with dogs than a select group of strangers I encounter. I can’t wrap my mind around this level of entitlement and delusional belief that everyone needs to hear from you.
Recommended Read: “Dog Karens, you don’t own every neighborhood pet ~ IDSC October Exclusive: When subconscious racial profiling seeps its way into dog lovers”
In quite possibly the strangest incident in walking 95 dogs and owning three, I encountered an angry woman sitting on her front porch today. My headphones were on. I was browsing Threads on my phone while my dog was busily smelling every blade of grass and whatever fascinated her on the sidewalk. It was a perfectly lovely day all day.
Then I hear, “WHY DO YOU HAVE YOUR HEADPHONES ON? PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR DOG!”
I looked up, just knowing this lady had to be talking to someone else on her porch. But she’s looking directly at me. I shake my head and keep walking.
“YOU MUST BE RELATED TO THEM!” she yelled out, pointing to an apartment building under construction next door.
At this point, I’ve had more than enough. I know former FLOTUS Michelle Obama says all that razzle dazzle about “when they go low, you go high.” That is her business and her right. But if you’re disrespectful to me, I will match your energy every time.
“If you don’t get your lonely, miserable ass out of my business,” I responded. “I am minding my business and not bothering you. Go find somebody to talk to who actually likes you. I’m not one of those people.”
And I marched on, middle finger waving in the air.
Recommended Read: “Is your dog racist, or is it really you? ~ What should a dog owner do when a dog expresses a racial preference?”
Now I would normally just shrug this off as “the crazy lady on the porch.” Why this lady declared I must be “related” to the people fixing the house next door to her is not a mystery I’m interested in solving. What really bothers me is the house has a sign on it that says “Yoga Whole.”
How on Earth are you this angry and this much of a troublemaker while living in a home with a huge sign about one of the most calm ways to practice mindfulness, peace and spiritual discipline? Take note of the home you’re living in. Either start taking yoga to calm down or take the sign down. You’re making this company look bad. Breathe in. Breathe out. And shut up. More importantly, just stop bothering black dog owners who are minding their business.
There was one good thing that came out of all of this though. I usually do at least 20 minutes of Pilates and 10 minutes of meditation Monday thru Friday mornings. But she pissed me off so much this evening that I came home to stream two yoga videos (salute to Erica Rascon and Koya Webb). Weird way to accidentally market yoga, but it apparently worked on me.
Did you enjoy this post? You’re also welcome to check out my Substack columns “Black Girl In a Doggone World,” “BlackTechLogy,” “Homegrown Tales,” “I Do See Color,” “One Black Woman’s Vote,” “Tickled,” “We Need To Talk” and “Window Shopping” too. Subscribe to this newsletter for the weekly posts every Wednesday.
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