Funny story: My father, who is a veteran of the Air Force, was once mistaken for an "illegal" just because he was out mowing the lawn while being Mexican.
After spending 20+ years in the service, my dad still retained many of the mannerisms of a military man: the high-and-tight haircut, the shined and polished shoes, the carefully starched and pressed work shirts, and his pride and joy: an immaculately groomed yard where the grass was cut in precise diagonal lines. I still remember when we lived at the Air Force Academy and we won the coveted "Yard of the Month" sign to display on our lawn.
One day after his retirement, my dad was working on our new "civilian" lawn when he caught the attention of some neighbor out for an afternoon stroll.
He came up to my dad and in all seriousness said, "Hey there! You're sure doing a fine job on this lawn! When you're done, how 'bout you come over to my house; I think I'll have you do some work on my yard next!"
My dad wasn't sure what to say exactly, so he replied, "Umm.... I live here. This is my house and my lawn."
The guy was so embarrassed, he turned really red, mumbled "Sorry" and walked off really fast. We never saw him again.
At the time, my family laughed so hard when he told us this story, because it is pretty hilarious. My dad signed himself up for school at the age of 6 without knowing any English, gained citizenship to join the military at 18, gave over 20 years of his life in service of this country... and stupid stuff like this still happens to him.
"open up I am being followed by hispanics."
I don't know whether to laugh or cry at that snippet.
Now, I've had the (mis)fortune of being rudely accosted by nearly every race, creed, religion, etc. on the planet. It comes with the territory of being a small, young-looking female. Tell your friend that a knife isn't going to help stem the tide of unwanted attention when she's still working a late shift, walking home alone late at night, and having zero situational awareness during the day.