Arthur is 23 years old and boarded a bus as he did any other day in Nova Iguaçu, Brazil.
He sat next to a woman. Minutes later, she got up from beside him and, about 20 minutes later, got off at the next stop. Before leaving, according to Arthur, she looked at him in a way he interpreted as loaded with prejudice. To him, it was no coincidence: it was discrimination, pure and simple, one of those small gestures that hurt more because of how commonplace they are than because of how obvious they are.
So far, all that is known is his version of events. There is no police report or statement from the woman who shared that stretch of the journey with him. Even so, his account made its way across social media and divided people into two camps: some defended him and shared similar experiences, while others said he was jumping to conclusions based on a gesture that could have meant anything. The discussion remains open, along with the usual question: how much of what we experience as discrimination goes completely unnoticed by the person causing it?