Hey y'all,

So this past weekend, I was at a bar with a bunch of friends, very in state, dancing a lot, interacting with lots of people. I was with a date so I wasn't really gaming (to escalate, at least), but I was interacting with anyone who was in the vicinity. And then there was this one.

Overheard that it was her birthday, went to high-five her and say "happy birthday," and she reached out in an attempt to slap me. I asked "why would you do that?" and she says "because you look like poop."

I am a brown-skinned, South Asian male, and in that moment, all the racism I've experienced in my life came back and punched me in the face. I've been told something racist as such on more than one occasion by white females (so white females, please give me some insight here). It really messed with my state - I only got out of a negative state when I told me friend and he gave me some words of encouragement (something along the lines of "You're really gonna let this affect you after everything you've been through in the past year?"), but it sucks that I even needed that - if I was out gaming alone, I wouldn't have had that to lean on.

So I ask - How does one keep from something like blatant insults/racism from breaking your mental state?