trish hermanson
  • Home
  • BIO
  • FAQs
  • Book Club
  • Awards
  • Influences
  • Home
  • BIO
  • FAQs
  • Book Club
  • Awards
  • Influences

Me Racist?

8/18/2017

2 Comments

 
Picture

     I knew I could easily point my finger at swaggering neo Nazi/white supremacists for being racist. But what about me, a nice white American? Do I unknowingly give off an air of racial superiority that insults minorities?
     So I asked two African American friends about the racial pain they’ve endured, hoping to learn from them. They revealed the trauma of how some people, who wouldn’t call themselves racist, wound them.
     
It’s usually unintended little barbs, one said, like someone declaring, “You talk so eloquently, you sound like you’re white.” Or slapping him on the back and announcing, “You’re a good black guy.” Or believing it’s okay to banter with a racial joke. Or thinking it’s a compliment to tell him, “I’d be honored if you dated my daughter.”
     
Sometimes it’s uglier. “You minorities ought to get your act together.” Or at an organization where my other friend is a member, the president tries to energize members by claiming, “We wouldn’t be so reserved if we weren’t all white.” (My friend winces. “It’s like he’s saying blacks act like apes. It’s rude.”)
     
I swallowed slowly. “So how can we, who are white, do better?”
     
They were silent, then spoke with carefully chosen words. And trained by habit to be gracious, they didn’t reveal any of my cultural sins. One encouraged me to listen, listen, listen. The other suggested that opening up more safe conversations like this would be good “to better understand what a big deal the pieces of each other’s lives are.”
​     
Our time ended. I thanked them and left, breathless and busted. And I wondered, when others ignite my hotspots, will I be as generous as they are? And when I point a finger and call out evil as evil - as I should - will I remember that three fingers are pointing back at me?

(Image above is a detail from Michelangelo's Last Judgment)
2 Comments
best online writing link
1/9/2018 05:58:30 pm

Please do not be a racist. You have no idea how hard it is for these people to receive these types of comments every single day of their lives. It is not their fault that they were born with a different nationality or that their skin is darker than most people. These people deserve respect. Do not be someone who would inflict pain on people just because you do not understand them. Always choose to be the bigger and kinder person.

Reply
Trish Hermanson link
1/10/2018 12:21:20 pm

Good thoughts, and good words. Thank you!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Croutons...
    Chew on these seasoned bits of life for a little hope and humor along your highway.​
    Picture
    JOIN ME ~ I’ll send brief, occasional posts for this journey we're traveling on together.
    Subscribe

    Categories

    All
    Holidays & Happenings
    Humor
    Inspiration
    Passages
    Social Issues
    Spirituality
    Wholeness

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017

    Picture
    Available on Amazon
    Picture

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly