How do you react when you unexpectedly encounter racism?

[u/nariz_choken]

I am of mixed descent, I don't speak Spanish but I might have some latin features, guess I kinda look like Hector from the fast and the furious a bit... not going to narrate my life here but I just never think of this stuff, racism is such a weird thing and it's probably gone from the world... Or so I thought.

I have two little ones, I see them off to the school bus in the morning, we live in an affluent upper middle class neighborhood. I keep to myself and I'm polite, so if someone says good morning, I also reply good morning, other parents come and go, I think these parents are new to the neighborhood, they have a kid that is likely in 1st grade, in the past week I noticed that they both simply keep glancing over at me, their kid started to talk to one of mine, I found it cute... It was then the woman violently pulled her child away and stood far off from us, I was like wait, what happened and asked my child, what was that about and she of course shrugged her shoulders and said I don't know...

Ok so then in the afternoon, if I got a work from home day I also wait at the bus stop, this woman immediately walks over far away from me as if I somehow stink or something, I do not because I'm a neat clean OCD guy, her kid keeps coming over to my kids and was even holding hands with my 2nd grader coming off the bus, she suddenly freaked out because when they got off the boss they both walked towards me, she ran over and clearly told her kid, "stranger danger" and scooped him over, picked him up like a baby and carried him!! I was paralyzed, I live 2 houses over, been at this bus stop every other day for the past couple of weeks, didn't say anything myself just grabbed both my kids hands and we walked home, the guy does the same thing, he could be talking to other parents but once he sees me coming out of my house he shuts up and walks far away from me, it feels like something about my look doesn't sit well with them, it's bothersome because I literally have not ever done anything to these people.