(no subject)
Jul. 10th, 2004 08:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
novapsycheHello all!
I'm on my way to my third karaoke night in four days. The one I went to last night was in Milan, a very small town about 25 minutes away from where I live. One of the women I work with lives there, so I asked her if she'd heard of the place that had the karaoke, and she described it as a "hick bar". That scared me a bit, but I went anyway. I got there and counted four pick-up trucks in the parking lot. When I went inside, the music was decidedly country & western, and all of the faces were white. I didn't feel entirely comfortable. I felt that people were looking at me. I tried to keep my head in the song selection book as not to attract undue attention. I sang two songs, the second of which was "Midnight Train to Georgia", mainly because it's right in my range and I know I sing it well, but also because it was fairly close to country in sound. I got some compliments after that song, but I didn't feel comfortable enough to sing a third song. It was getting late by then, anyway, so I made my way out. The entire time I was there (nearly three hours) one other black person was there, a guy. But within 30 minutes, he and his friends (not black) were gone.
I'm not trying to be racist. But there are times when a person has to be careful. This is true much of the time if you're a woman; this is often true if you're black. I happen to be both, so in some instances I try to be doubly cautious.
Tonight's karaoke is in the same bar as the one I visited a few days ago. Comparatively, I'm not worried at all. I think it'll be fun. I wonder if I'll see that guy again.
I'm on my way to my third karaoke night in four days. The one I went to last night was in Milan, a very small town about 25 minutes away from where I live. One of the women I work with lives there, so I asked her if she'd heard of the place that had the karaoke, and she described it as a "hick bar". That scared me a bit, but I went anyway. I got there and counted four pick-up trucks in the parking lot. When I went inside, the music was decidedly country & western, and all of the faces were white. I didn't feel entirely comfortable. I felt that people were looking at me. I tried to keep my head in the song selection book as not to attract undue attention. I sang two songs, the second of which was "Midnight Train to Georgia", mainly because it's right in my range and I know I sing it well, but also because it was fairly close to country in sound. I got some compliments after that song, but I didn't feel comfortable enough to sing a third song. It was getting late by then, anyway, so I made my way out. The entire time I was there (nearly three hours) one other black person was there, a guy. But within 30 minutes, he and his friends (not black) were gone.
I'm not trying to be racist. But there are times when a person has to be careful. This is true much of the time if you're a woman; this is often true if you're black. I happen to be both, so in some instances I try to be doubly cautious.
Tonight's karaoke is in the same bar as the one I visited a few days ago. Comparatively, I'm not worried at all. I think it'll be fun. I wonder if I'll see that guy again.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-12 07:03 am (UTC)Oh, I miss it. I can imagine, in a place like this, that being black (or any other colour) would be challenging indeed. Don't know if it's like your Karaoke bar, but can sort of imagine.
But glad you sang, glad you're going back there. And glad you are doubly cautious.
C.