Race and Work

Something that really bugs me is the assumption that this link is important. My first job was in a petrol station, and I always used to joke about being the 'token Brit'. About a week after I got the job, a customer was surprised that I was English; fair enough, I was kinda in the minority, but then he said I was "too good for this place" and that really bugged me. I'd been working there a few days, I was the most junior member of staff, the only advantage I had over most of my collegues was that English was my first language. I was the most likely person to mess up, and before this job I had no retail experience whatsoever. The fact that he judged me purely on my nationality really did bother me.