Am I Mini Prejudice??

You might already know that I drive an adorable, little Mini Cooper… a red convertible with a black ragtop.  Bill also has a Mini.  His is grey-blue with a white hard top.  As Mini drivers, we have joined a really fun group of people.  We Mini Cooper drivers wave at each other whenever we pass on the road.  It’s really kind of neat.

This morning traffic was worse than usual.  As I approached a subdivision I noticed a Mini Cooper waiting to pull out onto the road.  Naturally, I slowed, signaled and allowed the royal blue Mini with the black hard top to slip in front of me.   The driver smiled into his rearview mirror and waved a grateful thank you.  I waved back and smiled.

Then I got to thinking…

Would I have let someone else pull out in front of me if they weren’t driving a Mini Cooper?

Honestly, I don’t think so.  And that’s what’s bothering me tonight. 

It bothers me because I consider myself very open to differences among people.  I teach at a very diverse school and I feel that I treat all my students equally – having firm, consistent expectations and encouraging them all to put forth their best effort.  I also enjoy living in the D.C. metropolitan area where I am privileged to work with and have friends who are different from me… their politics, their religion, their gender, or their ethnicity.  Getting to know those who aren’t just like me offers me the opportunity to grow.

So this brings me back to why I let the Mini Cooper pull out in front of me when I probably wouldn’t have done so if it were a different car.  I don’t have the answer yet.  I need to think on that.