In my job I spend a lot of time on the phone talking to people (Daft thing to say because what else do you do on the phone). Some of these people I chat to on a regular basis, and over time, I have built a good rapport and friendship with them. As with most forms of non visual communication you start to build a mental picture of the person you are talking to. (Tall, sporty, confident, well dressed etc...).
One of these regular contacts offered to come to my place of work for a face to face meeting, and to take me out to lunch. When I met him I was surprised to see that he was black. My mental image was of a tall, sporty, confident, well dressed, Caucasian guy. Does that make me a racist?
My assumption was based on his voice, accent, etc....... I strongly want to iterate here that I had no issues or problems with the fact that he wasn't white. I couldn't give a hoot what colour he was, or, how he dressed (as long as he was suitably attired). I think I came to that mental image because that is what I expected to see, because that is what I normally see.
Does my presumption mean that technically I am a racist?
I don't think that I am, I'd be horrified if somebody thought that I was truly am racist
Oh, and by the way, we did go for lunch, we each had a big steak, a few beers, and a good chat about work and non work stuff
Ziggy