So, a few days ago I went over to a friend's house and we were discussing the President's speech on immagration. First, my friend complained that the illegals didn't pay any taxes and therefore, don't belong here. Plus, she said, our tax dollars go to educate their children and pay for their hospital bills, etc. Well, I countered with the fact that personally I think anyone who wants to be an American should be allowed to live here. Immagration laws are just a lot of BS. Plus, the illegals are usually taking the jobs that legal Americans don't want anyway. And, since my tax dollars go to support a school system I neither benefitted from personally nor sent my child to, frankly, adding a couple extra kids didn't matter much to me. I pay a lot in taxes -- more than my friend, since she's married and can write off her children, etc. -- so I really don't want to hear anyone whine about where their tax dollars go. (Just a sidenote, I benefit the least from government programs and laws to protect my rights and yet, I pay more in taxes than a married couple who earn a lot more and can write more off. Doesn't seem fair to me.)
Anyway, we then -- carrying over the fact that illegal immagrants usually take jobs legal Americans don't want to do -- I stated that a white American isn't going to take a job picking fruit or vegatables and black Americans don't want to do it either. And, my friend answered, "Blacks don't want to work anyway."
Now, how can anyone in my generation make a comment like that? Where do you learn crap like that? Her parents are younger than mine, so could she have learned it from them? And, why would you want to teach your child an untrue stereotype of another race? Don't all our kids have to work together? Won't all the races in this country have to stand together to keep this great nation of ours going?
Then, I realized, my friend spent part of her childhood in the south, as did her husband, who feels the same way. Does that have something to do with the differences in our feelings toward the different races? I spent all of my schooling years safe and sound in the intergrated North. My classmates -- who worked just as hard as I did -- were a mix of blacks, latinos and asian. I didn't once think that somehow I'm better than a classmate because I was white and they weren't.
I guess this comment my friend made was just a big slap in the face. I pretty much thought that racism -- at least for my generation -- was a thing of the past. In our childhoods, we studied together, played together and sat in classes together. We spent time, if not learning about our differences, at least we complained about our homework together.
Anyway, I guess I'm still in shock. How can my generation contain such open racists?
God Bless
Top Of My Head
2 comments:
I am completely with you, I just have a different background. I grew up in Georgia and my parents were against the black/white issue for a long time, but they sent me to a integrated school. I had friends that were purple if you get what I mean. I came home my Freshman year of High School and told my parents that a guy asked me out. I was forbidden to go with him because he was black. I was shocked because they had never even mentioned it before. Being a "good Christian" I though we were commanded to love all people. Well 8 years later I stuck with my beliefs and am married to a wonderful man who just happens to be the color of caramel. They are warming up to the fact but my dad still doesn't want his "little girl" to do something he was against. So there's my background, here's my view on working folks. I believe that all people, no matter what race they are have to work at something to make a living. It can be one of three things: 1) they work an honest job 9-5 and take care of their families and live in a house with a white picket fence 2) they work an illegal job and take care of their families but spend a lot of time running from people so no one finds out where they are and 3) they sit at home and live off of someone else that doesn't have enough sense to see they are being used. I believe each one of these categories has every type of race in it. There are tons of people reguardless of race that are honest, liers, or moochers. Thanks for posting this about racism it really gets my going.
Erin,
Thanks for reading and posting your thoughts.
I know that a lot of people in my parents' generation -- black and white -- are still against the mixing of the races. I can almost excuse them of this belief because in reality, they really don't know any better.
But, someone in my generation should know better.
I know whites who are lazy butts and blacks who bust their rears everyday and vice versa. I still can't get over the fact that bigots do not see the unrealities in their bigotry. If you only look for blacks that don't work, you're only going to find blacks that don't work.
I don't understand all those white pride groups either. 90% of them are ignorant morons that I don't want to be speaking for my race. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty grateful that I was born white. I'm sure that my skin color has opened a few doors for me, but I just can't abide by this idea that I should have some desire to parlay this into a reason to not like those of different races.
Again, thanks for reading.
God Bless
Julie
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