I am an idealist.
I want everything to be fair, split somewhere down the middle when two sides conflict, and all endings to be happily ever after.
Now I'm intelligent enough to realize it doesn't happen that way often.
But I still hope.
I hope that one day racism will be a non-issue. Within my family and within our culture. My optimism has been re nourished of late because of the outcome of the election. A new day. A time for change. The obvious change and most needed change is change from these past eight painful years. Economic change. Political change.
But I also want to see a change in culture.
I want to walk into a restaurant or a store with my husband and not get "the look". I want to go to my son's football games with my family and not "hear" the conversation stop in the bleachers as we walk by. I want to meet my daughters friends for the first time and not be asked why we are different colors.
I don't want to feel disgust when reading a blog I had previously enjoyed, but now read a post where the author shares her fear over how "those people" might change the decor in the White House to better accommodate "their lifestyle". I don't want to read about her fear that some specific artwork displayed there which depicts slavery might be removed or even worse, meet an untimely demise. I don't want to hear about how she felt this would be "a shame" because slavery has it's place in "our" history. I especially don't want to read the lie when she made it clear to her readers that she is definitely not racist.
I want parents to be proud of their children when they choose a partner based on moral character, good values and love as opposed to social status, financial strength or the right skin color.
I want to see children being raised to understand and embrace diversity.
I want people who say they aren't racist to either put their words into practice or stop talking out of both sides of their mouth.
Yes, I am an idealist who believes that if any of this is possible, the best time to begin is now.
9 hours ago
4 comments:
Hey Shirl, good post. As you know, I am in a interracial relationship myself. We get the same funny look you get with your husband. My wife has been asked if she is the "babysitter." People ask and don't get how ignorant they are. It's like asking a heavy set woman when the baby is due only to find out she's not pregnant.
I am glad to see a black man in the White House.
I think racism is never going away. We will deal with it forever. We just accept it and move on.
We will always deal with ignorant people who fear what they don't know.
More of people being judgmental. Well, we can pray for peace and prosperity for the next 4 years.
Peace, W.Greene
Hi Shirl great post. This is something that you obviously feel passionately about and your words have inspired me to write a post about victimization. Please stop by later on if you can and give me your thoughts.
Be Well.
Hello Shirl,
Great post! I agree. To everything, there is a time and a season. Change is inevitable.
Manchild
Shirl,
Wow, every time you post, I just go, WOW.
I love this blog. I love the honesty and the blatant reality. I know I've said it before, but thank you so much for putting your heart out there for the rest of us to learn from. I am learning SO MUCH from you and am grateful that this is prominently in my mind, where I might dwell on my own actions, reactions, thoughts ... good and bad and ugly ... and ask God for forgiveness when I fall short. I only pray that as my young son grows, the lessons of these days will be things of faintest memory, that he will know a world where such ugliness is unfathomable.
Blessings.
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