Who’s Gonna Tell Them?

The customer is looking at my nametag during the checkout process.

Customer: “What kinda name is that?”

Me: “It’s an old Aramaic name. It means—”

Customer: “Arabic?! If you move to America, you need to get yourself an easier name to pronounce.”

Me: “I was born here. And I said Aramaic, not Arab—”

Customer: “—Then your parents shoulda given you a Christian name. It’ll help you integrate here in the long run.”

Me: “Sir, it’s Aramaic.”

Customer: “Arabic, ‘aray-mic’, same thing. If you come to this country, you need a nice, strong Christian name!”

The customer checks out, and I’m left there to process. The next customer is giving me a sympathetic smile.

Next Customer: “My mom believes that Jesus was white and wrote the Bible in English, so I get it…”