That’s A Crappy Thing To Say In Front Of ANYONE

Many years ago, while going to college, I worked as a prep cook at a family restaurant. Also working there were two brothers from an African country. They also attended college there, and they were the main cooks. [Brother #1], being tall and thin, looked a bit more exotic than his brother, [Brother #2]. They both spoke English well with slight accents. And because they were black, they stood out in this college town in Utah anyway. They were fun guys to work with overall.

The restaurant had hired a new host whose main job was to seat people. I didn’t interact with him much, but he was a tad condescending at those times when I did. But different strokes and all that…

During our breaks, we could order our meals for half price and eat them in the break room. On this particular occasion, [Brother #2] and I were taking our break at the same time and talking when this new host took his break and sat down. He kept trying to break into our conversation but not too successfully. [Brother #1] brought him the meal that he’d ordered and returned to the kitchen.

New Host: “This doesn’t look very good.”

Me: “Oh, it looks all right. I’ve had it before.”

New Host: “So have I, but I think that African a**hole messed it up.”

Remember, [Brother #2] was sitting right there.

Me: “Uh… you know…”

New Host: “What?”

Me: *Pointing at [Brother #2]* “That’s his brother.”

The new host went pale and didn’t talk anymore, all while [Brother #2] was giving him the ol’ stinkeye. He told [Brother #1] about it, and he got very angry.

That host didn’t work there for very long. Whether he was fired or quit, I don’t know. But how oblivious do you have to be to not see that these two guys had some connection?