A few days ago, it was after 7pm and my friend and I were waiting to get picked up by someone at a community college we were visiting. We walked inside a building just outside where we had told him to meet us, and once inside, we noticed a group of about five people who were looking over at us. Not after long, one of them asked if we were here for the “improv”. We asked what he meant and told him that we were waiting for our ride. He said they were having an improv comedy audition and that we could participate if we wanted to. We found that quite amusing and thought, “Hey, this is how we can punish our friend who’s late in picking us up, by making him come in and do improv comedy.” And as we stood there wondering whether our friend would ever show up, the guy told us that they had a lower turnout so far than expected and that we should be a part of it. We thought, “Hmm, why not?” Well, the answer to that question would become apparent soon enough.

They had us fill out a form with our contact information and answer a couple of questions. It was kind of funny: we had just been wandering around and all of a sudden it looked like we were becoming part of comedy troupe. So we walked into the room and it was time to start. My friend had his mini-video camera with him which would come in handy. First, they had everyone go up one at a time and talk about a topic for 30 seconds. We did that and I remember thinking, “Okay, I can do this.” The next part was a group activity where I was picked to go up with two other people and act out a scene. It was about a reunion at which one of us didn’t actually belong. Also, one person had to be sitting, one standing, and one leaning, and if someone changed position then the other person had to change. Seemed kind of silly but I thought, whatever, I’ll go along with it.

What happened next is the main reason I am writing this. The guy who “didn’t belong at the reunion” in the scene we were playing, called me something that I did not take lightly. He called me “9/11 beard”. At first it took me a moment for it to sink in, but then I realized, he just associated me with a terrorist attack, the most devastating in recent history. What followed was that I lost my cool (rightfully so), and left the room. I don’t know how most people would have reacted to being called this and being discriminated against, but I felt taken advantage of and offended. Here I was participating in this event off the cuff for these people, and that’s what I get in return? Unbelievable. The thing is, there are lines that should not be crossed in comedy. Joking about 9/11 and associating someone with it is just not acceptable. The attempted “joke” really hit me in a bad place.

I did get an apology which was good, and as we went back into the room, the guy in charge said they were going to call it a night and stop the audition. So we walked out and hoped our ride would finally show up. After about ten minutes we were still waiting, so my friend went back to the room to see if they had all left. It’s hard to believe the situation could have become worse, but it did. My friend heard some noises and when he got there, he found that they were still auditioning. So they had completely lied and told me they were done just to get rid of me! I went back in and asked them if this was true but they denied it and assured me they were just about to leave. Yeah, right.

I am writing this to show people how easily it is to be taken advantage of. Don’t discriminate against people!!! Don’t make jokes about 9/11!!! And don’t lie to people just to get rid of them!!! Spread the word.