I had a meeting with a Samoan girl and a socially eccentric Palagi guy last month to discuss a topic that was going to cause a few waves. Socially eccentric Palagi guy voiced his disagreement on the topic, ending with an idiomatuc expression implying the topic was ridiculous and was received by Samoan girl with the kind of roll-of-the-eyes sigh that screams OHMYGOSHYOUAREABIGWEIRDO. Later on, Samoan girl asked me what the idiom meant, so I explained. Her response with a screwed-up face was that she still did not understand and I did because I am Palagi. For a split second I pictured myself grabbing Samoan girl, shaking her and yelling uncontrollably because me having Irish blood was not the reason she does not understand and does not make me smarter than her. I even failed to convince her with the truth that I only understood the idiom because of everything Socially eccentric Palagi guy had said beforehand. In reality Samoan girl is one of the loveliest souls you will ever meet so instead of me creating a scene fit to land me in a straight-jacket, I had my say, changed the topic and felt sad because it was as if Samoan girl had decided she was not capable of understanding before I explained anything and made me wonder how much of her life she goes through putting a lack of understanding around such things down to her being Samoan.
This is me - Teine 'Afakasi.
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