Is This Legal?

This morning Mr. Fixit had a final appointment after his cataract surgery earlier this year. He forgot his hearing aids. I sat down while he was signing in. The receptionist asked him if his insurance had changed since his last visit, and then she said, “What is your race, Mr. Fixit?” He turned to look at me as if he hadn’t heard her question. I understood it completely and was on my feet immediately. He turned to her and asked, “My race?”  She said, “Are you East Indian or what?” I gave a look and a bit of attitude and said, “White.” She said, “ It’s something I have to ask, and we ask everyone. It’s a matter of demographics.”  Yeah, right.

Several people came in after us and she asked no one else their race.

Granted Mr. Fixit is tanned. We’ve spent the summer at baseball games, but he is lighter than a lot  people who  spend time outdoors in the summer. In the winter he is not much darker than I am, and I am very fair. My first thought was to ask her if he looks like he non-white, but I held my tongue.When we were discussing it in the car, he said maybe it’s because of our last name. I think it’s more a matter of his accent.

Regardless of the reason for her question, it seemed that  she was asking more about national origin than she was about ethnicity. It smacked of ugliness, profiling, and bigotry.

If I ever have a problem that requires an eye surgeon, it won’t be him. Not only for the inappropriate (IMO) question but for his hobby. Throughout his office are pictures of him in Africa posing with his trophies (dead animals in plain language.) There is at least large photo in every examining room that we have been in. Today was the proverbial straw for me. Right over the head of the receptionist was the stuffed head of a beautiful antelope with a long graceful neck and very long horns. It was probably an impala or a springbok—I’m not up on my African mammals. I would have enjoyed more seeing a picture of a live animal racing across the grasslands instead of a dead one on the wall.

Also showing on the wide screen HD TV was a nature program featuring animals in the wild. I looked up from my book once and saw a bird of prey ripping the head off a smaller bird. I know the rules of nature, but that doesn’t mean I like watching it HD TV.