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Prejudice Lives!

© Michele Hriciso

I admit that in some ways I've lived a fairly sheltered life. I grew up in a rural setting and went to school with kids who were mostly a lot like me, the biggest variation amongst us being whose parents made more money. I knew that prejudice existed but had no practical experience with it.

Imagine my surprise, running up against it for the first time at the age of 31 in an educational setting.

I was working full time and attending the police academy at the local community college for 30 clock hours a week. We'd just started 12-hour shifts at work; school was about 25 miles from home and 40 miles from work. To say I was pressed for time is an understatement.

We'd just started defensive tactics in the academy when this incident happened. This is the class that teaches you to kick butt, should you ever have a need to kick butt.

I never had a thought about my psoriasis when we started defensive tactics. I knew it wasn't contagious and it was as much a part of me as my hazel eyes. I'd been dealing with it for years, and at the time it wasn't even a severe case - on my body I had just a couple of patches on my elbows and hips.

Someone noticed it, though.

On the second day of class, one of the instructors pulled me aside and asked me what was wrong with my elbows. I explained that it was psoriasis, making sure to note that it was not contagious and that the doctor had given me a new prescription the day before that was expected to have a healing effect. The instructor was tactful about the situation but said I would have to wear a long-sleeve shirt for the duration of the defensive tactics class.

I was upset about this for several reasons.

It was April pushing May, and in Florida it's already hot by then. There was no air conditioning in the room and precious little ventilation from the fans installed in each corner of the room. The walls were padded and seemed to produce their own sweat.

Without a doubt, I did not want to wear a long-sleeve shirt in this environment.

I did manage to find a lightweight undershirt with long sleeves that worked until I could find the time to pick up the new medication from the pharmacy. It was uncomfortable but I learned to deal with it.