Because We are Human We are Equal
I spent one summer living with a neo-nazi lesbian who complained of the inherent inequity of the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy and who also hung posters in her room that read in German “Love Your Race”. We were a forced match but managed to get along for a few months despite the fact that for dinner she would fry a pound of bacon, toast a loaf of white bread, butter each piece, and then make sandwiches. She would eat them all in one sitting and never managed to clean up the splattered bacon grease clinging to the walls and low ceiling. The best way I can describe her is that she was a test of my patience and my ideas of acceptable human behavior. But even with our summer of ignorant comments and smeared pork fat I have never been around as much blatant racism as surrounds me here. There are many examples I could site; they slap me in the face every day. But there was something this morning that pushed me over the edge.
We ride around in the back of pick-up trucks (I understand why dogs are so happy in trucks: I love it back there with the wind in my hair and an unobstructed view) and this morning on the way to lunch the group in the back was treated to the following joke:
Q: What’s God’s gift to black people?
A: Sickle cell anemia.
Just typing it makes me feel sick. I glared at SW3 and told him he crossed the line, but I didn’t know what else to say. He returned my eye contact and said, “I’m sorry if I offended you”. His tone didn’t suggest regret but that any offence on my part was because of a weak stomach and a naive outlook.
It seems like everyone is exhausted from Mad Dog’s tricks. He never lets up and even though he preaches an open door policy and has no problem letting a person speak, he chooses not to listen and doesn’t address the issue weather it’s about wearing flip-flops or the mission of the project. He’s black, and I think the racist comments are an attempt by the troops at criticism when they’re out of logical arguments but are too angry to give up the rant.
I want to see the good each person and to be able to explain the behavior away so I can continue. I want feel OK with myself and I want to ignore the problems. I'm not sure where that puts me.
We ride around in the back of pick-up trucks (I understand why dogs are so happy in trucks: I love it back there with the wind in my hair and an unobstructed view) and this morning on the way to lunch the group in the back was treated to the following joke:
Q: What’s God’s gift to black people?
A: Sickle cell anemia.
Just typing it makes me feel sick. I glared at SW3 and told him he crossed the line, but I didn’t know what else to say. He returned my eye contact and said, “I’m sorry if I offended you”. His tone didn’t suggest regret but that any offence on my part was because of a weak stomach and a naive outlook.
It seems like everyone is exhausted from Mad Dog’s tricks. He never lets up and even though he preaches an open door policy and has no problem letting a person speak, he chooses not to listen and doesn’t address the issue weather it’s about wearing flip-flops or the mission of the project. He’s black, and I think the racist comments are an attempt by the troops at criticism when they’re out of logical arguments but are too angry to give up the rant.
I want to see the good each person and to be able to explain the behavior away so I can continue. I want feel OK with myself and I want to ignore the problems. I'm not sure where that puts me.
posted by Jessica at 17:59
1 Comments:
I know it is irritating, but don't be so hard on nazi-lesbian. A lot of people in various walks of life complain about things that they themselves practise in someway or the other. These are silly people and need pity. But some such people can be dangerous too precisely because they are silly.
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