We’ve been looking for a larger house for a while now so while I was walking to the park with my daughter today I was really excited to see a beautiful old house for sale. It’s only a couple blocks from our place now, well made (over 100 years old) GORGEOUS!! So, when we are [...]
Yesterday I was watching a show on CNN called Generation Islam – I was heartbroken, the show focused attention on all of the kids that are being affected by the hate and racism that is going on in the middle east. It also shines a bright beautiful light on all of the different people and groups who are working to break the cycle of hate by educating kids and their mothers. This morning I was flipping through channels and I came across West Side Story ans started watching it. I remember the first time I watched this when I was younger. I cried and cried when Tony got killed. I was really upset but I can’t remember if I really understood that the movie was about racism and hate. While I was watching this movie I was also browsing through some blogs and started reading a post on Rebellious Arab Girl about Arabs who are Rasicst against other Arabs because of the color of their skin. I was lucky, my parents never taught me to hate anyone (accept Dallas Cowboy fans). We were so sheltered. It wouldn’t last long. Racists are everywhere. I really started thinking about racism and where it starts. I know some people are hurt or killed by others and it causes hate. I can almost, almost understand it, but, then they teach it to their kids and their kids teach it to their kids, etc, etc, etc. Even writing this post I think it’s impossible – how do you get people to stop teaching hate?
When I was 10 years old I flew to Chicago with my two sisters to visit my grandparents, a couple of snobby upper-class grumpy old people. I hated being around them. They were always angry. My grandfather was ok he just couldn’t stand my grandmother and would just tune out everything, literally, she opens her mouth – he turns down the hearing aid. Anyway, there we were 3 sweet innocent little angels, away from our mom and dad for the first time, trying to figure out a way to have fun. We went to the zoo and ate out at a lot of fancy restaurants. One day my grandmother was fixing us a snack of watermelon slices. We loved watermelon and got real excited and asked my grandmother if we could sit outside and eat it. She turned around and glared at us and yelled, “You’re not going outside to eat watermelon like a bunch of Niggers!!” We just stood there with our mouths open then my younger sister started crying and ran back to the bedroom. My big sister grabbed my hand, glared right back at my grandmother and pulled me into the bedroom. We stayed in there for hours. Thirty years later and I can still picture that womans face – she was viscious. Once I grew up my mother told me some other stories. Like the one where she blames black people swimming in the public pools for giving my aunt polio. She also forbid my father to marry my mom. When that didn’t work she resorted to bribery – obviously that still didn’t work.
Racism – Hate – It’s everywhere. Are you a racist? When was your first experience with it? How do you think it can be stopped?
Subscribe to our feed to get the latest updates from our website.
