head wrap

I tied on a beautiful scarf one morning as a fashion accessory (and yes, to cover up undone hair), stepped out the door, and walked to downtown DC. On my way home, I stopped for a moment, startled by a man asking, “Are you a Muslim?” I’ve worn scarves periodically for years only being approached when someone wanted to compliment my head wrap. The man smiled, I realized he meant no harm. I politely said no and moved on, but it’s what I did next that will raise the eyebrows of some.

As I passed by a store, I noticed lots of hats in the window and tucked in to find one to replace the scarf, ashamed of myself on the one hand, on the other, pissed that the current political agenda, which targets people of a different faith, was playing on my psyche. Hat secured, I walked aimlessly around looking at other items, adrenalin lifting scars off my DNA strand; the surge of ancestral defiance rushing from feet to crown was not to be ignored. Hat returned to shelf, I marched out the door holding my scarf wrapped head high as I sauntered on home feeling a bit badass, though not at all proud of my initial reaction.

There will be those who think I should indeed be ashamed of myself, others who don’t, and those who are unsure. Though we like to think we know exactly how we’ll behave in or react to any given situation, my experience has proven that not to be true on more than a few occasions. Like the day I was in a cross walk, heard the sound of a pick up truck picking up speed, saw the face of hate barreling towards me, felt the scars bursting. Rather than move forward or backward, I froze dead in my tracks, pun intended. Fortunately, survival is also written on my strand and its force carried me out of danger as the voice of hate howled in the wind.

We bear the scars, be they beautiful or not. Who we are, what we look like, what we believe, and who we love gives rise to the possibility of new ones forming; let us determine be they beautiful or not, so stay informed, be resilient, and…

keep your peepers open!®

#scars #scarf #ethnicissues #headwrap #keepyourpeepersopen