I was in the canteen the other day, just having a cheese roll and chips, when a colleague came and sat down with us. We'd started in the service about the same time in the early 1990's. We were talking about the early years and then he told me. He said, "Do you remember Stephen D?"
I said, "yes." (How could I forget him I thought? He was my mightmare.)
He said he had heard that Stephen D had died a few years ago. Then there was a moment of relief for me, then there was nothing. All three of us were talking, both are good colleagues of mine, and they are not Black. For a moment I was shocked about Stephen D, but my colleague reminded me.
He said he had heard that Stephen D had died a few years ago. Then there was a moment of relief for me, then there was nothing. All three of us were talking, both are good colleagues of mine, and they are not Black. For a moment I was shocked about Stephen D, but my colleague reminded me.
He said," He absolutely hated you, even when you weren't in work, he would give you racial abuse." (That's a first, I wasn't aware of that. Actually I was.) He said, "Do you remember the day he tried to "piss" on you?" I said, "yes, he did wee on me."
My colleague said, "He hated you." Whether he said he wanted to kill me, as in Stephen D, I cannot recall, but this character, for the colour of my skin really hated me. I saw him a couple of times off duty when I was walking with the kids. He must have been drugged up. He was the other side of the road, about 50 feet away. My children were young, only 4 and 6 at the time. My wife was with me. I ushered them away.
I remembered then as we sat and chatted in the canteen how evil this Stephen D was, and thankfully my colleague who I admire, love and respect, who is really no different to me, remembered the very dangerous, racial abuse I suffered.
If Stephen D flipped he was likely to seriously injure someone, a police officer probably. He was racist, violent and a druggie. On another occasion I do recall an associate of this Stephen D. I was always reasonable with him. He was 6' tall and blonde. He categorically said to Stephen, "leave him be." I asked him why he did this, and he shrugged his shoulders. Twice when I have met this nominal we looked into each other’s eyes, and I thanked him. Maybe he saved me from serious injury, who knows?
3 comments:
I have just read your bloggs and they are very good. Honest and upfront.But I am rather concerned about the amount of racism you seem to have suffered, especially, it seems, from stephen D.
I'm sorry you had to put up with that.
On a lighter note though, I had to laugh. In one of your bloggs you said you were in the canteen and "they must think I eat a lot" The next blogg you were in the canteen again!!
Nice bloggs, please keep up the good work.
Now now, just because I was in the canteen twice, that means nothing. I'm slim Jim. Ok I like my chips. I admit it, sure thing, who doesn'r like their chips? it's good to laugh.
Stephen D is the least of my worries. We all get that to an extent, but he is very very dangerous if he is still alive. He will assault officer's. The institution though practices worse racism sometimes and that is what hurts still.
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