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Saturday, December 4, 2010

Racism

I was thinking about Racism today.  Not so much the outright form, but the insidious kind.

There is a restaurant here in Cork with a business card showing a Mexican man in old, dirty clothes with a big smile, and two missing teeth.  I couldn't help but smile too.  Yet it made me wonder - am I a racist?

From one point of view, the image obviously promotes Classism.  The man is clearly poor, dirty, and in need of a dentist, but happy and content in his place.
Or could I simply be amused by his infectious smile and the courage to look life squarely in the eye and laugh at it.

Closer to home we have Antoine Dodson.  A black man living in project housing who was interviewed after an intruder escaped from his sister's bedroom.  His in the moment 'street vernacular' warning to the would be rapist was hysterical, but was it funny because of the unusual affront, or the Ghetto setting?

Do I feel I am better than others and amused by the little people?  Maybe I'm just an equal opportunity Elitist, and is that not just - human?  Hey, "You've gotta serve somebody" - the whole Jesus thing is another story.

I feel I have years of unlearning to do... or should I just lighten up?

/Craig

ps. Say something!

2 comments:

  1. I thought it was interesting how Huntsville was quick to point out that Dodson is actually from Chicago (or somewhere other than here).

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  2. I think what's inferred there is that Blacks here are better "behaved".

    Folks can tolerate diversity more when they're in their place. Did you read the Wikipedia statement about how "people such as Dodson reflected poorly on the community"?

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