Near the Old Man of Storr, Scotland I took this in 2004

Friday, July 10, 2009

Racism: A Many Hated Thing!

" I looked in your eyes I saw the shame, y'all don't know that our greatness came before the chain."
Big up Talib Kweli


Wow!!! I have no idea what to say, rather how to say it, succinctly, so let me just begin, shall I ?
Here, where I have been staying, I was at the dinner table and the discussion turned to 'race'; now I need to mention that everyone here is WASP, and damn proud of it, that would be, everyone save for yours truly, I am neither WASP, nor would I be proud of it.

So, the topic turns to issues of ,well let's be blunt, colour. The father of this family told us all a story about how his grandfather used to work for a licorice company called 'n' word 'boy'.
I was both shocked and disgusted at hearing this word spoken so freely, but, what's worse, this man goes on to say, " I don't see what's wrong with that word." And what was even scarier, neither did anyone else at the table!!!
I did my fucking best to a) not fully lose it and b) put the fucker in his place, by saying how hateful the word is for the connotations of slavery it holds. Nothing. No one cared.

In fact, another member of the table -party told a story about how the people he works with call road signs the 'n'
word, sandwiched between the words black and boy. He said he refused to use that expression but he didn't seem to do much more about it.

I felt like I was in some fucking 1950's kkk meeting. It was sick.

Someone else piped up about how black people call themselves the "n" word, as if to justfy white ass fucks who also use it, and I said so- fucking- what, that we, as non-dark skinned people have absolutely no right EVER to use that hate-filled word. Like that needed to be said though!!!


What truly sickened me the most though is that no one batted an eye at the word being used, or at it's viciousness, or that no one even spoke on the subject of slavery, except me, of course.



And, the dog is still not welcome indoors. She always does come in though, and comes running to me, cuz she sees an ally, WHICH I AM. I get told that I spoil her, but if giving her love is called spoiling her, than I wonder truly what words one could use to describe how the little kid of this family is raised/treated?!!!

Peace