"But beware of the dark side. Anger...fear...aggression. The dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will, as it did Obi-Wan's apprentice."
Is this what the Republican party has become? We are finally seeing the outcome of the Southern Strategy: the sea of white people at the convention, the lack of any people of color in the entire Congressional delegation, and pure hatred at political rallies.
This is the party of Lincoln? Eisenhower?
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Monday, October 06, 2008
Pain
"I've never been prejudiced in my life," said Sharon Fleming, 69, the wife of a retired coal miner, who spends hours at the union hall calling voters on behalf of Obama. "My niece married a black, and I don't have a problem with it. Now, I wouldn't want a mixed marriage for my daughter, but I'm voting for Obama."
Reading this article is incredibly painful. So, painful that I'm not really sure what to write. Those people are talking about me and my family. And what the hell is "a black"?
I don't think about racism a lot. If you don't like me because I'm black that is your problem. But the Obama campaign has brought bunch of issues up to the surface. There are a lot of white people who just don't like us. We make them uncomfortable. They think Obama will enslave them. (Why would Obama enslave his own family?) What the quote above shows is the total irrationality of racial prejudice. This poor woman can't even figure out what she believes.
I have always thought that you don't know people true racial prejudice until you ask them whether or not they would want their children to marry someone of another race.
When I was in 7th grade or so, a friend of mine told me that his parents would disown him if he ever married a black person. I had been to this family's house and they were perfectly nice to me but, clearly, I was not worthy solely on the basis of my skin color. Black meant "not good enough for my son."
It seems to me that white America is frightened. American means white and having a black guy with the Muslim middle name just doesn't feel right. His wife is even worse. Her blackness freaks them out even more. If you don't want your kids marrying one of those people you certainly don't want them stomping around one of the prettiest houses in the nation.
Reading this article is incredibly painful. So, painful that I'm not really sure what to write. Those people are talking about me and my family. And what the hell is "a black"?
I don't think about racism a lot. If you don't like me because I'm black that is your problem. But the Obama campaign has brought bunch of issues up to the surface. There are a lot of white people who just don't like us. We make them uncomfortable. They think Obama will enslave them. (Why would Obama enslave his own family?) What the quote above shows is the total irrationality of racial prejudice. This poor woman can't even figure out what she believes.
I have always thought that you don't know people true racial prejudice until you ask them whether or not they would want their children to marry someone of another race.
When I was in 7th grade or so, a friend of mine told me that his parents would disown him if he ever married a black person. I had been to this family's house and they were perfectly nice to me but, clearly, I was not worthy solely on the basis of my skin color. Black meant "not good enough for my son."
It seems to me that white America is frightened. American means white and having a black guy with the Muslim middle name just doesn't feel right. His wife is even worse. Her blackness freaks them out even more. If you don't want your kids marrying one of those people you certainly don't want them stomping around one of the prettiest houses in the nation.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Honors
Last weekend I traveled from New Jersey to Maryland to South Carolina and back in the space of about 72 hours. Kind of crazy but totally worth it.
My uncle, Rudolph Gordon, worked for Greenville County Public Schools (SC) for 40 years moving from teacher to assistant principal to principal to various district-wide offices until finally becoming superintendent of schools in 1996. He retired in 2000 to spend more time with his family.
In 2005, the school board voted to honor my uncle by naming a new elementary school in his honor. On Monday, my family and I gathered in South Carolina for the dedication of the Rudolph G. Gordon Elementary School (Home of the Gordon Gators).
It was a wonderful event and such an honor for my uncle who had to fight back tears when he found out they named the media center for his recently deceased wife, a former librarian. Totally worth the 24 hours in the car.
P.S.
The kindergartners wanted the mascot to be a reindeer but they were overruled.
My uncle, Rudolph Gordon, worked for Greenville County Public Schools (SC) for 40 years moving from teacher to assistant principal to principal to various district-wide offices until finally becoming superintendent of schools in 1996. He retired in 2000 to spend more time with his family.
In 2005, the school board voted to honor my uncle by naming a new elementary school in his honor. On Monday, my family and I gathered in South Carolina for the dedication of the Rudolph G. Gordon Elementary School (Home of the Gordon Gators).
It was a wonderful event and such an honor for my uncle who had to fight back tears when he found out they named the media center for his recently deceased wife, a former librarian. Totally worth the 24 hours in the car.
P.S.
The kindergartners wanted the mascot to be a reindeer but they were overruled.
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