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Back when I was a young man, I
was hanging around the bar, the bartender would normally buy his lunch
from the deli just down the street. The deli owner hired a black man to
help make sandwiches during the busy lunch hours. One of the other
people at the bar said to the bartender, I’m going to get some lunch
would you like me to pick up something for you? The bartender said, “I’m
not prejudice, but I can’t eat a sandwich made by a black man” I did not
speak up and say: yes you are prejudice.
“I’m not prejudice, I think everyone should own
one”
“I’m not prejudice, some of them are good people”
I can go on and on with statements that I have
heard people say in reference to black people.
It has been many years now since I have allowed
people to tell me racial jokes or not correct racial statements, I do
pick my battles carefully, If a person has true hatred in his or her
heart towards black people, I’m not going to put myself in a bad
position by speaking my mind. But if a person is just speaking out of
ignorance, I will speak my mind.
Back when I was married and my son was still a
baby, my wife and I went to rent a house; the landlady said that her
father owned the house just next store to the house we wanted to rent.
Then she goes on to say “a very nice black couple looked at this house
and really wanted to rent it, I’m not prejudice, but, I just could not
do that to my father”
Once again I did not correct this injustice, I did
not say, I would never rent from a closed minded racist like you. We
moved in the next week.
In my life I worked for companies that had many
black employees, I always got along well with everyone. I also worked
for companies that did not have any black employees. One company I worked for was looking for a new
maintenance man to do maintenance in an apartment complex. A black man
came in to fill out an application. The girl who was like a receptionist
for the company smiled at this man, asked if he would like some coffee
or something to drink, she was very polite and respectful to the man, I
was sitting right there, I spoke to the man about his experience with
maintenance, he sounded knowledgeable. The man finishes filling out the
application, hands it to the girl, she says thank you stands up shakes
his hand, says, “my boss will have a look at it and we will call you.
The man leaves, she troughs his application in the garbage can, looks at
me and smiles and says the boss does not even want to see an application
from a black man.
This same man (the landlord) had no problem
receiving rent money from black tenants.
I already hated this landlord because he was a
miserable scumbag in the first place but now I knew what a real piece of
shit he was, and the girl was also a real piece of shit herself. But I
didn’t do anything about it either, I just complained about how unjust I
thought it was.
I received an email from someone that just loves to
forward stupid emails to everyone, so I don’t even know who originally
sent the email. It was a white pride letter, saying we need to be proud
that we are white just as the blacks are proud to be black, and he went
on to complain about how black people have more rights then us, how it
is ok for there to be a black entertainment network (BET) but if we had
a White entertainment network (WET) we would be called racists. He made
many other references. Then went on to imply that all muggers, thieves,
rapists, and murderers were black. I guess all of us white folks are
honest hard working people who are just victims of the evil black man.
I’m 54 years old, I grew up in Spanish Harlem, and
the Bronx, in all of my years I have never been robbed, shot, stabbed,
rapped, murdered, or even cheated by a black person, and I have had many
dealings with black people. On the other hand, I have been robbed and
cheated by white people more times then I can remember, I have also had
many good relations with white people. The point is not that white
people are more likely to rob you then black people are, it is that
there is good and bad in all races.
People say black people should not be angry with us
because of what our ancestors have done, I agree with this, but I
believe they have a right to be angry with us for what we are doing or
are not doing now.
How many times have you turned a blind eye to
discrimination?
Every time you did, you caused harm to black
people.
I wonder where the nice black couple ended up
living after they were rejected just because they were black. When I
moved in to that house I caused harm to that family.
I wonder if the black man found another job to
support his family and how many other applications found there way
directly in to a garbage can.
What that girl did was against the law, I could
have reported it to the proper authorities, by doing nothing I caused
harm to that man and his family and any other black person that may have
applied for a job with that company.
I have never directly caused any black person any
harm, I have never called a black person the N word, and I have never
treated a black person like they were beneath me. I have never crossed
the street because I saw a group of black people standing in front of an
apartment building. I have always been respectful to all people. But I’m
still part of the problem, because I looked the other way.
I cannot change the past I can only change the
present, I will do my best, what will you do?
I now live in an area where it is about 50/50 black
and white, people are very polite and friendly here.
One small update, a neighbors' white 7 year old
grandson was hanging around my house watching TV with me when I turned
the station to the dog whisperer, this 7 year old boy says to me "turn
that off I don't want to watch that stupid Mexican" I was surprised by
this statement and asked him why he felt that way, he said all Mexicans
are dirty bad people I spent a good amount of time explaining why his
thinking was wrong, but I'm not sure if I got through to him, I know he
was just repeating what he heard at home, but he sounded like he had
made up his mine about Mexican people. this only happened a few months
ago, we have a very long way to go. |