I was sitting at my work cafeteria with a couple of friends about an hour ago, about to eat a personal pizza. As usual, I have to sprinkle on ample amounts of garlic powder and crushed red pepper. But these items were locked up and the cafeteria manager with the keys was still on vacation. So I was screwed. Then I looked over to the condiment counter and noticed a bottle of Sriracha Chili Sauce. I love that sauce and it actually works great as a pizza topping. So I squeezed a good amount onto my pizza. I came back to the table and one of my friends asked me what the hell was on my pizza. I told him it was Sriracha Chili Sauce. He had never heard of it. I was a bit surprised. I thought everyone had it in their homes. The other friend also loves the sauce and had it in his home.
We were sitting immediately outside of the area where people pay for their food. So I proposed a bet that at least 50% of the next 10 people that we know would agree that they have the sauce in their homes. It wasn’t for money, just a gentlemen’s wager.
I saw that my friend Helen was just coming out of line. So I asked her if she has the sauce at home. And she responds: “Why? Just because I’m Asian?” I should be clear that she wasn’t serious, and that it was all in jest. But knowing her pretty well, I think that she would take offense if a complete stranger asked her that. But there was no prejudice. She just happened to be the next person I knew on line. Is there a term to describe this incorrect assumption? By the way, Helen had the sauce at home. But she was the last person that we polled, since the conversation turned to a discussion about whether there was a term for “falsely inferred prejudice”.
This is as close as I could think of. It’s offense at a perceived (rather than real) insult or slight. Aside from it not being race-specific, it’s exactly what the OP wants.
gigi There is a group of people out there that will take offence at any question or remark someone makes. Making a question about ownership of Chili sauce into a racist rant is assholish IMHO.
You’re talking about the type of person who can see racist undertones in even the most innocent comment or situation, right? I agree that “playing the race card” describes such a person, although “asshole” is a perfectly valid description too
But how do they know it’s innocent? There’s no way to know if it’s falsely inferred, since the original commentor can play it off as innocent whether it was or not. I can’t blame people for being vigilant when there is real prejudice out there.
