I'm by no means racist, nor do I have anything against any particular sect of people. But this is really starting to bother me:

The local convenience store that I've patronized since we moved here has changed hands a few times since I started doing so. The first owner was a middle-aged white female from the next town to the north. She ended up selling it to an older white gentleman from the Indianapolis area. That guy ended up selling it to a middle-aged middle-easterner.

Since the current owner has had it, he has brought in other middle-easterners to run it for him, pushing the local residents out of their employed positions there. Now, the current "top" manager has brought in 2 other middle-easterners: One in his early 20's and one in his late 20's. The younger of the two has been operating the cash register for the last 4 months or so, and this other guy is completely new to me since I got back from vacation.

The manager himself has a disturbing appearance: He drives a fairly nice Acura, wears business casual clothes all the time, and wears a baby-blue New York Yankees baseball hat. He is actively involved in the operation of the store, and he is always busy doing something when he's there. He won't talk to the customers, and from what I've seen he's very condescending to his employees.

The younger guy is very clean-cut, always wears nice clothes, and addresses everyone as "sir" or "ma'am".

The other guy, the 3 nights I've seen him at the station, has been wearing the same black shirt with red stripes, black dress pants, and he does nothing but walk around the parking lot and talk on the cell phone. I've not seen him inside the station once, and even when I drive by there and see no customers outside, he's still on the phone.

I suppose my personal opinion of their race has been marred by the media and government's portrayed image of Islam, and I am probably being rash about it. However, it's really unnerving to see that guy in the parking lot, wearing the same clothes, doing the same exact thing, for 3 nights in a row. Sure, he may have just cause, such as keeping in touch with his wife back home, as he may have just arrived to the area, but it's really odd to me.

Call me prejudice, I guess. I'm going to continue shopping there because they have the best prices on what I buy, but I'm going to do so looking out of the corner of my eye the entire time.