I like going to bars. Sue me.
No, not The Backyard — that’s not a bar. Bars I like allow for conversation with my friends and trying some pretty nice drinks. Going out at night and unwinding is honestly one of my favorite pastimes, and it’s a great way of socializing that I’ve found pleasurable.
But recently, I had an experience that was less than pleasurable.
I walked into my go-to bar on Northgate to drink and hang out with my friends. Within a couple of minutes, someone came up to me and my friend — both of us of Indian descent — and made a racist comment towards us.
I was taken aback. We’re living in 2025; this isn’t supposed to happen. While I do feel we’re regressing in societal acceptance of diversity due to our political situation, I never thought something this blatant would happen to me. He wasn’t fazed by his words; he truly meant what he said.
Now, at first, I was just in shock. I didn’t respond to the comment. I just tried to avoid the conversation altogether. It’s probably best to avoid confrontation at a bar, especially when people have been drinking — you never know what crazy things one can do under the influence.
But when I got up to the front to get a drink, one of the bartenders made a racist gesture towards us. Again, I was in shock, so I just got my drink and went to my seat.
Sometimes when you come face to face with racism, it immediately hits you as to what’s happening. It makes you angry and wanting to retaliate. But other times, it’s a slow realization of the discrimination that you’ve faced. It doesn’t make sense what you’ve experienced, but as you slowly put the pieces together, you realize what has occurred.
I wasn’t declined service due to my skin color. I wasn’t kicked out because of my ethnicity. I wasn’t even told to drink in a certain area because I was different from everyone else in the bar. But just one simple remark or gesture is more than enough racism one should have to encounter. I should be able to enjoy my drink and not have to worry about people saying things about me that are out of my control.
Now, you might be asking me, “What do you suggest be done about this?”
I have no clue.
This is the equivalent of trying to achieve world peace. You’re asking me to cure conscious ignorance and systematic racism to stop all bad things from happening at bars — that’s never going to happen. There’s always going to be someone who thinks they’re better than you because of their skin color; that’s just the way our world works.
As much as you try to avoid racism, it’ll still happen to you.
I went to a predominately white private school growing up. As a Malaysian immigrant, I know that when you’re thrown into a system where you’re visibly an outlier at such a young age, you can’t really see systematic racism when you’re in the system yourself.
Fast forward to my elementary and middle school years and I was the exemplary student in my school. Multiple academic awards, captaining sports teams and winning district championships were some of my greatest achievements; I was loved by everyone — or so I thought.
Once I left that school, I was finally able to truly see the racism that I faced. The model minority myth isn’t a myth, it’s true. All of the accomplishments I got at this school weren’t because of my merits but because I lived up to the high expectations stereotypically put on me. Why does a child have to be subjected to unfair stereotypes?
I don’t like to play the victim card — I work for what I get. But when I have to unfairly play a game of racism I don’t want to play all my life, it’s a tiring uphill battle. No matter how much you work and how much you try to get better at this game, it’s never enough. You’ll always face some sort of racism.
The rule of facing racism in bars is that there are no rules known to us because we don’t make the game. As much as we want to feel that we’re in control of our destiny and what we choose to do, the perpetrator is the one in control. It’s helpless for people like us, and we can’t control it.
Politicians can make laws against racism and have diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives implemented in workplaces. While all of this can be important for combatting systematic racism, there is nothing stopping someone from saying a racist comment to me while I’m in line for a beer.
As depressing as it sounds, there will never be true reform for the victims of racism. It’s a zero-sum game. Someone else wins because we lose. All we can do is to take our drink back to our seats, hoping we don’t fall prey to another person’s racist antics while they’re drunk.
A pint of beer shouldn’t come at the cost of racism. But it definitely does feel like it.
Joshua Abraham is a kinesiology junior and opinion writer for The Battalion.