Goodbye, Notre-Dame-de-Grace

This is goodbye, Notre-Dame-de-Grace. I'll be glad to leave your district. I was attracted by the "suburb" feel and Monkland Village is not so bad. However, I never felt so much fear and racism before living among your people.

To all those ladies who give me dirty looks, like the one this evening who looked at me like I didn't deserve to be on the same sidewalk, good riddance! You won't see me again come June 1st. No more need to clutch your purse and move as far away as possible. There will be one less black female walking or running on the sidewalk.

To all you mothers who frantically yelled at their kids playing on the front lawn and clutched them as if I was going to eat them, you can sleep easy now. One less black person your children will have to see. It doesn't matter that I am well dressed and probably make more money than you ever will. I'm black and you see me as a threat to your lil-white little babes.

You made me understand why some black people in the US are so angry. For the first time in my life I understand the aggressiveness. You know why? Because I feel helpless. When you look at me with deathly fear written all over your face, I feel helpless. When you cross the street, when you are afraid to get out of your car until I walk far away, when you block the sidewalk or shove me: What can I do? I'm damned if I do nothing and damned if I do something. Do you know how infuriating that is?

I will leave you people alone and go live in the densely, diversely populated Plateau neighborhood. Maybe that's where you expect me to be. In a neighborhood with no lawns and few open spaces.