Lakitha Tolbert
2 min readJan 1, 2024

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This is what has led me to believe that these people very very carefully choose who they're gonna fuck with. I've noticed a pattern, where they usually do not f*cks with black people in groups, or at least more than one at a time. They specifically and deliberately seek out Black people who appear to be alone and either transitory (like your young man at the door) or in the kind of job where they cannot simply walk away from them like countertop jobs in stores.

Your guy is all alone out there, with no others like him around, no supervisors, or administration or security to witness what happens to him, and so is your Amazon lady, (I'm also including that Dock worker in Alabama) and this makes them uniquely vulnerable to bullying in a way my job doesn't. I have the sort of seemingly public facing job where I can just walk away from people, or simply hang up the phone. My supervisors and co workers are usually sitting right there, and the public has no idea what my rank is within the organization. Even in places where I appear to be all alone (like the garage or in stores) white bullies keep their distance. There's something about me that is off putting to those kinds of people.

White people don't bother me, but I don't think it's because I'm doing anything. I don't think there's any thing you can do really. I think I must not seem like an easy win or look like I might punch them, but I'm lucky enough to have the kind of job where if those women showed up they'd be escorted out and banned. The thing about ALL bullies (just like those two old biddies) is that they seem to have a sixth sense for the types of people working the types of jobs where they can get away with that mess, and white bullies lie in wait for just such moments.

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Lakitha Tolbert
Lakitha Tolbert

Written by Lakitha Tolbert

(She/Her) Busybody librarian from Ohio.

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