I believe that we are born with discriminating eyes. We first see our mother's face, and research has shown that when males pick a mate, that person tends to have similar facial features to his mother.
I guess that makes all males racists.
The definition of "racist" has been changing lately. If you or anyone you have been in association with committed a macro or microaggression against any group you are now called a "racist". Even if you criticize Islamist terrorists, you will be called a racist despite the fact that there is no "Islamic race".
I must now confess that I must be a racist too.
My best school friend in second grade was a boy named Emile. I didn't pay much attention to his skin color at the time. I was more struck by the way he dressed. It was different from the other kids. He wore the same khaki uniform that was required at the Catholic school. He may have attended a Catholic school before joining my public school. I believe he was the second dark skinned kid in our school, the first being my friend and neighbor Michael Diaz.
When it came time to invite kids over for my birthday, I wanted to invite Emile. I was quite upset when my mother told me that Emile could not come, that it would be uncomfortable for him and for his parents. We could not be friends outside of school because that was "just not done". Not so for Michael Diaz who was welcome to come.
To this day the hurt persists.
My parents took me out of public school the next year, and I never saw Emile again. Full on integration was beginning to change the public school system in my historically ethnically diverse Southern city .
My older brother stayed in public school for two more years until he was assaulted in the restroom over a nickel, and a teacher was assaulted in the hall by a student.
We were both placed in a lily white Episcopal school and received a first class education with the exception of Bible studies of which there were none. There was a course in High School called "Comparative World Religions", but that was more of an apologetic for Islam, Hinduism, etc. My advanced classes prevented me from fulfilling all of my religion requirements, so in order to graduate, I had to do an independent research study relating to Ethics. I chose as my subject "The Ethics of Thermonuclear War" because I had a lot of material left over from a Physics project on "Surviving Nuclear War". My foray into Ethics must have impressed the priest who was supervising me because I got an A.
As far as racial diversity in my Episcopal school, we had one girl of Japanese descent, and any other interactions with different races came on the athletic field.
It wasn't until college and post graduate work that I would make friends with members of other races, but I knew better than to invite them to my parents' house for dinner.
My parents attitudes improved as they got older, but repentance doesn't count for much in the cancel culture in which we currently live.
By today's definition, I think I would be classified as a racist.
But by today's definition, I can be whatever or whomever I self-identify as on any given day.
I self-identify as a non-racist.
I guess that makes all males racists.
The definition of "racist" has been changing lately. If you or anyone you have been in association with committed a macro or microaggression against any group you are now called a "racist". Even if you criticize Islamist terrorists, you will be called a racist despite the fact that there is no "Islamic race".
I must now confess that I must be a racist too.
My best school friend in second grade was a boy named Emile. I didn't pay much attention to his skin color at the time. I was more struck by the way he dressed. It was different from the other kids. He wore the same khaki uniform that was required at the Catholic school. He may have attended a Catholic school before joining my public school. I believe he was the second dark skinned kid in our school, the first being my friend and neighbor Michael Diaz.
When it came time to invite kids over for my birthday, I wanted to invite Emile. I was quite upset when my mother told me that Emile could not come, that it would be uncomfortable for him and for his parents. We could not be friends outside of school because that was "just not done". Not so for Michael Diaz who was welcome to come.
To this day the hurt persists.
My parents took me out of public school the next year, and I never saw Emile again. Full on integration was beginning to change the public school system in my historically ethnically diverse Southern city .
My older brother stayed in public school for two more years until he was assaulted in the restroom over a nickel, and a teacher was assaulted in the hall by a student.
We were both placed in a lily white Episcopal school and received a first class education with the exception of Bible studies of which there were none. There was a course in High School called "Comparative World Religions", but that was more of an apologetic for Islam, Hinduism, etc. My advanced classes prevented me from fulfilling all of my religion requirements, so in order to graduate, I had to do an independent research study relating to Ethics. I chose as my subject "The Ethics of Thermonuclear War" because I had a lot of material left over from a Physics project on "Surviving Nuclear War". My foray into Ethics must have impressed the priest who was supervising me because I got an A.
As far as racial diversity in my Episcopal school, we had one girl of Japanese descent, and any other interactions with different races came on the athletic field.
It wasn't until college and post graduate work that I would make friends with members of other races, but I knew better than to invite them to my parents' house for dinner.
My parents attitudes improved as they got older, but repentance doesn't count for much in the cancel culture in which we currently live.
By today's definition, I think I would be classified as a racist.
But by today's definition, I can be whatever or whomever I self-identify as on any given day.
I self-identify as a non-racist.
So there!
Posts
One of the largest problems with the new "woke" religion is that, unlike Christianity, it allows no repentance or forgiveness.
ReplyDeleteAnd people who pretend to do "history" from the perspective of the "woke" religion make no allowances for the changes which have come in the past decades. The new push for "anti-racism" has nothing to do with actual anti-racism, in which the country has made tremendous progress in my lifetime. Or, we were making progress until "progressives" tried to throw it all away.
For the true progressive, progress never goes far enough especially if you continually preach that people are victims of oppression.
Delete"We were both placed in a lily white Episcopal school and received a first class education with the exception of Bible studies of which there were none."
ReplyDeleteAh, yes, those Episcopal schools. My experience (complete with two liberal chaplains) is here:
http://chet-aero.com/2019/06/02/my-response-to-renouncing-privilege/
Oh yes, my old school mailed a fund raising request the other day. Not one word about raising young Christians was to be found.
DeleteMine may have done that in its earliest years (it was founded back in 1962) but after the hippy-dippy '60's that was pretty much a thing of the past.
DeleteFWIW my wife went to Parker.
The only people who are not racists are those who admit they are racist.
ReplyDelete