I passed three young kids (probably early high-school age) on my way to wait for a traffic light. I waited at the light, and saw that they were coming to the light as well. They seemed to be in a bit of a joking mood, and one started making weird sounds. The others started doing it too, and I quickly realized that they were trying to imitate the sounds of Chinese or Korean in an attempt to make fun of me. They came and stood around me and continued to make the sounds, trying to elicit some sort of response (and made fun of my admittedly silly bike clothes).
Oddly, I said and felt nothing. When I was younger, I would no doubt have felt a flush of adrenaline and would have been angry with them for being racist. I even remember an incident in elementary school when I cried because somebody called me Japanese (I went to an otherwise all-white Jewish elementary school). Instead, I just sat there calmly with a tinge of sadness that they would do such a thing to someone completely unprovoked, and that they most likely would do it to others. I thought of what others must have done to them, and how much they must have suffered in the past for them to think that this would be a fun thing to do to someone else. I felt nothing for myself.
The light changed and I rode off slowly as they continued making sounds. I thought about them, but didn't feel a drop of resentment or anger towards them. I wished them happiness, and hoped that they would some day realize the importance of treating others well. Still, I did feel a hint of regret as I rode on, as I wished I could have said something kind yet stern that would have left a lasting impression that might even change the way they act in the future. Pretty tough to come up with on the spot though.
I think the most amazing part was that I didn't feel any sort of ill will towards them at all. It seems that over the years, I've been slowly changing my hot temper to something much cooler and calm. It's so easy to be happy when anger doesn't arise in the first place, and when you feel compassion and love towards people who would normally make you mad.
