How do we determine whether we — here, I am referring to my two readers who are white — are racists.
I can’t deny it. I notice the beautiful Somali family who often walks their children to school on my street. And I notice it on the rare occasions when I look out from my place in the choir at the front of church and spot a family of color in the congregation. And if I were asked to describe a person I saw doing something naughty, I could probably tell you two things for sure– gender and color.
I would like to have more friends of color, but how do I go about it in this whitebread community?
I do not one of those think we bear guilt for what people of our race did hundreds of years ago or for the patriarchy of our forefathers. We surely do not condone these things and we speak out against them, but we cannot claim responsibility for things that happened before we were born.
But I know for sure who among my acquaintances are racists, and this does not mean that they dragged a black man behind their pickup truck or threw a fit when their daughters went out with men of color.
It’s often very subtle and we need to examine ourselves.
Does it break your heart when the President of the United States of America is never subtle and couldn’t examine himself if his country depended on it.
I hope so.
Could you be friends with a racist? Or would the stigma of knowing a racist be too much of a shock? Can a racist have other qualities that might overcome that flaw?
I couldn’t be friends. To me, friendship means I am encouraging and supportive. But I could treat that person with courtesy and avoid the issue if forced to be in contact. I am too much of an introvert to confront directly. Does that make me passive/ aggressive or just a coward? I do write letters to the editor of my local paper regularly. In fact, the above blog post was recently published there.
I cannot like anyone who thinks he is superior and that others are inferior because of racial heritage. On the other hand, if someone has always been a conceited jerk and decides to change, then I could welcome him into my small circle of friends and encourage and support him in his efforts go become a decent human being.