Fly on the wall

On the last day of our trip we went to Warner Brothers Studios for the Turner Classic Movies tour.

I knew my sisters were going to spend time in the gift shop after, especially since they discovered Warner Brothers and Hanna Barbara plush.  

I went to the cafe area and found a place to sit from where I could easily see when they were done.

I was also easily able to see two women who were sitting nearby.

They were both wearing badges, though I was not close enough or familiar enough with WB protocols to identify what type of badges.

One of the women had a pad and things for taking notes, making it look like an interview. 

The other woman looked like Quinta Brunson. 

Now, on the tour of the lot we had seen both the sound stage and exterior sets for Abbott Elementary; maybe my mind was primed. There was some pretty compelling circumstantial evidence, including her radiance. That has been commented on many times by people who see her. I believe it's a combination of good skin and inner light, but yes, she glows.

I certainly did not want to interrupt. I mean, I walked by an interview of Robin Wilson of the Gin Blossoms five times before I gave up. 

I also thought it would be very rude to stare or take pictures and did not do either of those.

I was not quite as successful at not eavesdropping. (I never am. That's the dark side of my being a good listener.)

Where I did start wondering if it was actually an interview is that the other woman (tall, kind of looked like a cross between Jamie Lee Curtis and a manager I had a few years ago) was talking a lot more than I would expect of an interviewer.

Then I heard her admit that she shouldn't be talking so much. The woman whom I believe was Quinta Brunson was very gracious about it, but that was interesting.

It is very easy to want to talk and share your thoughts on something, especially on topics you care about. Once you get me started, well, it's a good thing I have this blog. However, if your job is interviewing people, one would expect that you would manage to suppress that.

It is very easy for a white woman to talk over a Black woman.

It wasn't in any way hostile or mean, like you would expect racism to look. It seemed more like really liking her and wanting to confide and be admired, which is a kind of emotional labor that does not only fall along gender lines (though that happens too).

I don't want to be too mean about it. I am sure she meant well, and she did kind of catch herself, and my sisters finally got done buying plush so I did not see the end of this interaction that was totally none of my business.

It was just interesting to see, especially in the aftermath of so many people refusing to listen to the very accomplished and absolutely correct Black women, where they are now protesting her events in some futile attempt to prove that they were right all along. 

These patterns go way back, and we are paying the price for not facing them.