I am white and from the South. I was raised in a town that was violently racists.... I remember KKK rallies in our town. Seeing babies in the back of pick up trucks with their hooded mama's, and the babies were dressed the same way.
The sperm donor was a straight up racist bigot... my mom was not.... Thank the powers that be... I got to see how blacks were treated when they 'accidentally' went into store or stopped for gas , simply not knowing the history of this town...I saw a black man beat to the ground because he stopped at a auto parts store for a part for his car....
None of that hysterical violence ever made sense to me.... Still doesn't.
I had a job in a neighboring town.. I was the only white person on staff.... reverse prejudice, if there is such a thing, I got to know up close and personal... because I was white....I was the supervisor, because I was qualified for the job, not because I was white.... and ended up getting fired because I asked one of the staff to please turn off the TV and help the residents with their night time routine...They didn't hesitate to pay me unemployment, it was to shut me up.
My kids were not raised racist...both of my step daughters are married to black men... I just don't understand where the problem is.... I have read and read, watched documentaries. ., just to try and understand how the hatred perpetuates itself....or even the mentality of people who perpetuate it, on either side....
When I was in Narcotics Anonymous, i sponsored a black woman.... When she was telling me of her childhood, I sat and cried.... not because I am blind, but because I was ignorant of how it was for her. I learned so much from that woman.
At this same job where i was the only white on staff, the only friend I had there, of course being black, and she caught it hard and heavy for being my friend.... from her own people.... we were talking about genealogy one evening, and she told me they were unable to trace their history because of slavery....
My white Irish Ancestors were slaves... no one wanted to hear about that ....
I no longer live in that part of Texas and am proud to say, these are non issues in the town I live in now.... I'm sure it's here, maybe I don't notice it because it's not as blatant as it was growing up....
Things are changing, very slowly, it won't happen in my lifetime... I've stopped reading about it, but do talk about it with open minded people.... but there is so much anger on the white side that I just do not understand.... I am far from being a privileged white...
Maybe I am sticking my head in the sand, I don't feel that I am, but color does not matter to me personally. This is a great topic and I am going to go back and read the whole thread... being raised in the environment I was,,, I want to see and feel how others view this.... sorry this was so long.....
