I hear you.
I guess I dream too. Lofty dreams of a time when people don't look to their own interests first. When they look at character not colour.
Where they forgive the past and move on to a future together.
The question for me is do we go face to face and nose to nose and hash it out? Does coming alongside and trying to dialogue to a common point of reference mean anything?
Is it better to be Right ... than righteous?
Sorry. Just reading this dialogue reminds me that we live in a world of such despair and darkness some times ... and that King's Vision was so powerful because so many people of the Human race wanted to believe.
I am not so sure anymore that we do.
Please understand.
I'm not preaching hate, I'm barely teaching tolerance for rude behavior to my children.
I'm teaching them to give the benifit of doubt to anyone who doesn't abuse them or try to do them harm.
This means that as long as you don't start none,.. there won't be none. For the most part they only have problems with people who ASSUME.
Examples:
Being told by someone on a camping trip that they can't swim and to stay in shallow water.
When they show they can both swim well,.. they are commended and labeled unusual.
I didn't suggest it,.. but the first defense that came up when I questioned why it was surprising was that "It wasn't because they were black".
Scoring in the upper 5th of their school in test scores,..... Yet even though I have them put in advanced classes for college Prep,... Having councelors bump them from those classes on two occasions apiece because even though they were doing well the councelors believed that they would "feel" better not going to college and looking into "trade schools" or Junior College instead.
In each case the classes were full and my children were replaced by white children.
Scary how bland and matter of fact they were about it until I got angry and let the whole office know that my children were not to be put on the fast track for ditch-digging when they are getting A's in Drafting, Electronics, and Physics,.... That the Prep classes in English, Math , and whatever passes for History would allow them to concentrate on what they really wanted to do in college.
Room was made for them each time,.. and when I FINALLY threatened to make it a race issue with the school district (Southern California) they stopped this silliness of deciding that even though my oldest wanted to become a vet / chef and the younger an electronic Engineer / Writer that they wouldn't really "be happier" in blue collar trade schools.
The worst part for me was the realization that there had to be hundreds if not thousands who's dreams are diverted based on color in exactly the same way.
I am teaching them (my sons )to work WITH people regardless of background,.. I just require them to make sure that those they work alongside earn their trust. If that person they are around (they could be black, white or blue) can't be bothered to give them the same base level of respect as I require my children to give others - then they don't need to be bothered with them.
You may find it hard to believe but they have made enemies by refusing to sit still and take abuse.
In the same breath I'm losing with one of them because he would rather be a pet than be his own person,....
Go figure.
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