Racism in America

The uglier side of life is on my mind this morning, usually not where I want it, but hey you live in the world there’s going to be ugly. I was chatting with a friend last night and racism came up, which totally sent me off on a rant. Don’t rant much, but this subject can so get me going.

If you haven’t experienced racial profiling up close and personal let me help you out here, it is ugly, damn ugly. Been in the headlines lately of course what with the whole Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. debacle. Are you one of those people who think well he MUST have been doing something wrong or it would not have happened? Well let me help you out here, I know that is not necessarily the case.

I lived in a predominately black low income neighborhood for 8 years, think college is the only place you can get an education, think again. Were there some stereotypical things happening there? Sure, you find that anywhere, including the small town I now live in. Met one of the smartest people I know there as well so it ain’t all what you think there folks, trust me. Came to know some very, very good people in my time there.

Did some community organizing, there was a community center that was being used by the city for storage, yep storage, got that restored back to what it was supposed to be complete with clinic and a head start program. Stared down a very unfriendly drug dealer/gun runner outside my unit one day which was interesting. Went before the City Council and spoke, which resulted in a community officer being placed in the public housing units over there which totally slowed that noise down. I had small children, had to be done.

So that was part of what I was up to and here are a couple of other experiences I had while residing there. One night I am sitting out on my porch talking to a guy I am dating who happens to have a darker skin tone than I do which isn’t difficult to have by the way, I am pretty dang white, don’t even tan well! Well dressed guy, nice car, well spoken, more often than not big smile on his face not exactly someone you would think looks intimidating or dangerous in any way.

Had his puppy with him who was quite rambunctious and kept jumping out the car window, big puppy, Mastiff so jumping out of the car window was not difficult for him. Police car cruises by, no big deal, happy to have them cruising through, not a bad thing by any means. A few minutes later there are four units parked in front of my townhouse and every one of those officers gets out and comes over. Now this is not a wild scene going on here we are talking quietly, my friend isn’t even all that close to me as he is playing with the pup and putting him back in the car.

I smile at the officers because like I said not a bad thing these guys cruising through, I helped get one of them stationed across the street a couple of years before. I start getting questioned about where I live by one of them who keeps eyeing my friend while the other three officers start giving this guy an enormous amount of crap for not having the pup on a leash, a dog that when they pulled up was in his arms and is now in the car albeit trying to jump out again.

This went on for 30 minutes people I kid you not, 30 minutes! Identification please, how do you know this man, which unit do you live in, etc., etc. My friend was calm and easy going, he’s not stupid after all and I was remaining the same because I was certain more than once that they were going to arrest him even though he did not come anywhere approaching anything that would have even in anyone’s imagination provoked it. Then I watched every one of those cars follow the man out of the complex, followed him halfway home. That was a long fifteen minutes of my life before I got the call he was home believe me because the way these officers were acting nothing they would have done would have surprised me at that point.

Another night, I am sitting out on my porch talking to another male friend same thing just less of a scene, one car, one officer and at least no identification was involved but come on now, really! There was not anything that should have looked odd to this officer and believe me I saw some things go on over there that warranted attention and we weren’t one of them I assure you.

Now here is what really makes this interesting folks. Another summer night, I am sitting out on my porch, talking to a friend on the phone, kids are in bed. I look up and three young men go running into a unit that sits on the diagonal from me. Seconds later they drag another young man out into the parking lot and start beating him severely while yelling about a woman he apparently had the misfortune of doing something or another with that one of the beaters took exception to. So I go back into my unit and call 911, seems like the thing to do when a guy is getting beaten and kicked in the head repeatedly. Know what they told me? Sorry but we can’t come out there unless you can give us the number of the unit they drug the man out of! I gave them my unit number and the exact location of the unit they dragged the poor guy out of and explained that I was standing there watching him getting beaten to death and they would not come no matter how much I argued with them. When it was over the guy was unconscious for a few minutes, then got up and staggered and drug himself back into his home. All the while I am begging these people to send officers and an ambulance and they won’t do it. I still feel sick thinking about it to this day and that was almost twenty years ago.

Think it doesn’t still happen? Think again. Think America is all over it because we have a black President, think again. That and things like it still happen every day in this country. My youngest son is half Irish, half African American. Two years ago as he is walking through the parking lot of his elementary school with some friends an adult male, I refuse to call him a man, who is there in his capacity as a Boy’s and Girl’s Club employee, tells one of the girls in his charge to “stay away from that one because he is a half breed” As things like that are bound to do word got around and got to me at my son’s baseball game that night and the guy who said it happened to have the misfortune to be there that night. I won’t go into what I had to say to him here but it was the topic of conversation the next week around here and I am normally one of the quietest people you‘ll meet.

My son’s skin color is as white as mine and he has the most gorgeous red hair you’ll ever see. His hair texture is like his Father’s and his build, otherwise he’s all me as my other two are, I have some bad a** genes:-) In the two years since that first incident happened and he went through middle school he has been called the ever lovely “N” word one a few occasions. He’s a good kid, smart, well mannered, dresses well, excellent athlete, quiet nature like his Mom, not that we can’t and don’t get going and have our fun, point is not a trouble maker. Wasn’t provoking it any of the times it happened, minding his own business and yet ignorance prevailed.

So folks again, think that mind set doesn’t still exist in present day America? Think again.

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