60 Back Of The Bus

My good friend Tim just brought to my attention an article from his hometown of Johnstown. It involves a foster child named"Shaq". He is an honor roll student on the United High School football team (9 and 2 record) and he lives in a quiet, suburban, predominantly white neighborhood. His foster Parents have taken in 16 children over the years and from what I have read, he seems to be well adjusted and happy. After his team lost a playoff game over the weekend, some ignorant bastard decided to burn a 6 foot cross in the family's yard. Holy Mother of God!! Is it 2009 or 1809? I know there will always be ignorant people, because, at least as far as I'm concerned, it's illegal to shoot them on sight or upon discovery of their ignorance. This kid was having problems with his birth family and these people took him in and gave him the fresh start that he needed and wanted. He was doing well in school and apparently, in sports. Just because his team loses a game or whatever reason these idiots had to hate him, does that really justify perpetuating a stereotype or a hatred that has been supposedly outdated since, oh-I dont know?, say--1865? Millions of men died so that our country could be united and men of all races, creeds and colors could supposedly be equal. The racial hatred (from all sides, black, white, yellow, red) has continued on for over a century. As a child in the 1970's I was raised in a small town with small town mentality, but my Mother did NOT perpetuate racial hatred. There were blacks or "coloreds" as I heard them called back then, around town and none of my family at least differentiated them other than "nice so-and-so" or "jerk" or "drunk" or "nice lady" and on and on. You get it? The same way you would describe anyone else around town.

I did see a racial divide(somewhat) in the military and some other places that I have lived, but for the most part, I thought REAL, lasting, violent hatred had died a drug-soaked, eardrum-splitting death in the 60's and 70's. The youth of that day had learned to get along with each other and racial epithets were usually seen being spewed from the mouths of southern, rural, older folks and perhaps, their progeny. Oh, it happens everywhere, yes. I know,but it wasnt as prevalent as it had been in the previous few decades. The people of different color that I knew lived literally, right beside of us. They were friends and neighbors and we often interacted with no qualms. One of my favorite outings was a fish-fry at the local "black" church. It is still associated to this day as such, I think, because for many decades, that's what it was. The local blacks were sort-of segregated to that remote little building although I'm not sure that it was a forced thing. For my lifetime it has been a place of diversity and Pap and I were always made welcome. I remember asking about desegregation when I was in grade school. It wasnt an issue here because all children went to the same school, but I knew that it went on in other areas of the country. I remember hearing the odd comment now and then that was made by (usually) an ill-educated, God-fearing son of a tobacco-chewing redneck. Go ahead. Yell at me. Tell me I'm wrong. Yes, I'm proud of my redneck ways, but not the ones that perpetuate that kind of hatred.

There is no place for that kind of thinking in modern society. I have been known to tell an off-color joke and use words I shouldnt, but those who know me, usually realize it's just me trying to be funny. No, it's no excuse for using that dreaded word, it's the same as using "gay" to describe something you think is dumb or stupid. It's a word we hear all to often, even if it's much less frequent than a few decades ago. I dont even know where to start when it comes to stereotyping.

So here we have this kid that wants to be a better person and what does he get? A setback. How is this going to affect his attitude? On one hand, he probably realizes that all white people arent like that because he has a caring family now that happens to be white, but on the other hand, don't you think that incident will always be in the back of his mind with every white person he meets and every job he works at ? The racial crap will be perpetuated now through yet another boneheaded, deplorable act that was most likely some jerk kids, pissed off about a football game. It is possible that it was some adults, but most likely it was a couple of the "fringe" kids that every school has. You know: bad homelife, dad is probably racist because he's ignorant and was never taught any better so now he has passed it on to a new generation and the kids like that are usually full of other bad habits-smoking, drinking, fighting, etc. etc. This kid will never learn anything different and it will go on and on and on.

There is a bit of hope, because occasionally, an uneducated(in the ways of polite society) soul has some self-realization through an event or a revelation and changes his way of thinking. He realizes that not all crimes or events are racially motivated. Nor are all the people that commit the crimes as full of hatred as they previously thought. Racism does work both ways. I have seen it first hand, but again, what caused it? Did the individuals that I had the run-in with have some horrible experience with whites? Did their parents teach them that all whites are racist or evil? It's like the chicken or the egg riddle, which came first? Yeah, I know, whites abducted blacks from their homeland and forced them to work as slaves. Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, Mongols, Middle Easterners, Mayans, Incans--just about every race has taken slaves over the ages. Occasionally the slaves were assimilated into the conquering society, sometimes they were accepted, sometimes they were considered lower class citizens. The world we live in should have no place left for considering someone "lower or beneath" us. What happened to "all men are created equal" or "certain inalienable rights"? We preach to the world that America is a melting pot for everyone and that anyone can succeed here. How do we expect anyone else in the world to take us seriously if we cant think and act as one people?

Racial division is just one problem that is crushing our way of life, but it is still a big one. Even 1 incident a day compared to maybe 50 a day in a time gone by is too much. I say "all men are created equal, unless proven an asshole". I am not trying to make light of this kid's plight, I really do try to see things in shades of gray. You're not a jerk unless you do something to prove it. Besides, Mom always said that I never met a stranger. Anyway, this kid deserved more than what he got. He was trying to better himself and he gets a dramatic statement from a segment of society that is(thank the Gods) a minority in our country now.

No matter your skin color or your ethnic background, there is always some common ground for us to stand on. We all breathe the same air, we drink the same water and thanks to a small lady, there are a few empty seats in the back of the bus. Send this kid and everyone else that is still being oppressed in this country a little of your love, hope and respect. You want it, right? So does he, but he's earned his, have you?