“I was traveling to motorcycle rallies with a high wire motorcycle trapeze act. We went to Sturgis, South Dakota for the big two-week long rally and met all sorts of characters. Being from New York City, I wasn’t used to cowboys, country living and motorcycle culture. There was a guy my troupe and I had met in West Virginia who was also on his way to Sturgis. We helped him transport his bike because we had extra room in our trailer. His name was Bubba and he was from Alabama. Bubba was such a great guy! He offered to help us with anything we needed. He was hilarious and just really kind. Although my mother is from Alabama, I had never been there and wasn’t accustomed to such Southern Hospitality.
Bubba told us all sorts of stories about his business- he sold lights to put on motorcycles and set up his booth at the rallies. He then went on to describe a person who was trying to cheat his coworker out of money and used the term “jewing a guy”. Being a New York jew, I had never heard anyone use this term seriously and my ears pricked up. I wasn’t actually offended because I knew this man didn’t hate jews- being from Alabama he may have never even met a jewish person. I was just in shock and didn’t know how to react. In that moment, I had to make a difficult decision- to educate this kind man and explain my jewishness to him or not. The woman I was travelling with explained that if I had said something, he would have been so embarrassed that we would probably never see him again and he would feel so badly that I would have ruined the evening. SO I decided not to say anything. Sometimes making friends is more important than being right.”
084/100 of #100DaysofConfessions Instagram Project
Photo Credit: Oliver Pavick