In one of the chapters, the topic of stereotyping is brought up. As David Sedaris is on a train holding on to one of the poles due to the seats being unavailable, people are around him telling one another to be careful of this man because he is French. Little do these people know that he speaks English, and can understand every single word these Americans are saying. These Americans are saying that since he is a French man, he is going to steal all their belongings, and that he also smells. Sedaris wanted to say something to the man to make a fool of him, but he was extremely entertained by all the assumptions the man made throughout the entire train ride. The man, Martin, said he probably has a partner to help him pick someones pockets. Since Sedaris is gay, he was planning on stealing his boyfriends wallet out of his back pockets and making a big scene to prove to the man he did not mean harm, but before he could do that, his boyfriend showed up and the man assumed that was his "partner in crime". They also brought up the fact he smells, even though he had just showered, and was wearing washed clothes. However, since he was French, they automatically assumed that any bad scents in a public train came from him.
Philosophy
