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Thank you Flaming, your post made my thoughts collect into a coherent form so that I can say what it is that has been needling me in the back of my mind. It is very frustrating when you cannot verbalize what you’re feeling.
There is no question in my mind racism exists. But someone that sees it EVERYWHERE isn’t taken seriously. They are dismissed as a chronic complainer. Like the little boy that calls wolf too many times. If and when this person actually experiences racism, how much credibility do they have?
We have been discussing white vs. black racism as the most predominant. There is another form, one that I personally find more disturbing. My husband is “mixed race” (a term I detest but that’s a discussion for another day). He is Native American and Black (if you take exception to the term, take it up with him).
We had a good friend named Mark. Mark raised in a predominately “white” neighborhood, he was extremely well educated, intelligent, kind, quiet, well-mannered and very funny. I have to say he was one of the best human beings I’ve had the fortune to meet. Mark would come to our home on a regular basis. He was single so he spent his holidays with us as well. He was in the military stationed on the same over-seas base as we were. He would play with our son for hours.
One day we were near his barracks and decided to stop and see if he wanted to join us for dinner (phones were not common in the barracks at that time). His roommate answered the door. His roommate was also African-American and this man was one of the rudest people I’ve ever met. He left the door ajar and went to “announce” our arrival he said absolutely horrible things about us (whom he’d never met) and to Mark. It seems that he felt Mark was “too white” (wtf that means). Mark did not invite us in, as you can imagine, but he did join us for dinner. He never reacted to this other man’s verbal assault. We heard from another mutual friend that Mark got a great deal of bullying, not only from his roommate, but that whole social group.
Why did these men feel that “centuries of oppression” gave them the right to harass another individual just because he didn’t share their feelings? They felt that Mark’s success in the military was because he “acted” white. WHAT an insult! This man was extremely knowledgeable in his field; his promotions were most definitely based upon his knowledge and work ethic. He took a great deal of pride in his job. His father was a VERY high ranking individual in the same branch. Of course Mark was too modest to share that tid bit.
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I've been married for 24 years and have four wonderful children.
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