I met "the black guy" in my neighborhood about
2 years ago. He moved into one of the nicer new homes that they
were building in our subdivision. (yeah.. the "burbs")
He was at first mostly an oddity to me.... I didn't really think
about him all that much... he just kinda "was". Worked
for me.
I awoke one day, stumbled out to get the paper, and noticed where
some loser had painted "K K K" in big black letters
across the side of "the black guy's" house. I stood
looking for a moment.. trying to get a handle on the way I was
feeling. That sickening feeling has never completely vanished.
Later, as I drove by.. I saw "the black guy" standing
in his side yard looking at the newly painted wall. I stopped the
car and pulled into his driveway. Never will forget the look he
gave me... mixture of curiosity and fear.
As I got out of my car and walked over I was mulling over just
what the hell I thought I was doing and just what the hell I was
going to say. I introduced myself...I stammered out some stuff
about how sorry I was that it happened... how MOST of the people
in the area seemed pretty nice... how MOST of the people would
not do anything so shitty. Never will forget what he said to me.
Alternately angry and teary eyed with frustration, he told me a
bit about himself and his family. He mentioned the fact that he
worked extra hard to make sure that the house and yard always
looked good, because being black meant that there was the
"possibility" that he would be judged more harshly than
a white man would. He explained how he and his wife had worked
hard to buy the "American Dream". All he wanted was a
home.. a safe place to live and raise his kids... gee.. kinda
like the rest of us.
Well, a few things changed for me that day. I got a first hand
look at how ignorance and bigotry damages us all. I got a name
for "the black guy". I got a friend who is black. I'll
miss him when he moves in the next few months. (no.. it is not a
race related move... it's a job thing)
I also lost a thing or two that day. I lost the ability to
tolerate people who hate based on color , religion, or slant of
eye. I lost the feeling that I had that I knew my neighbors... I
mean.. which one of them could do something like that? I lost
that southern-guy feeling that it is O.K. to listen to the racist
bullshit artists spewing their lies without taking a stand
against them.
Besides... most of them have really bad hair.
Hell... I dunno. Is it enough to try to live your life treating
people fairly and trying to raise your children to respect all
people regardless of race or religion? Is it OK to remain silent
about injustice as long as you do not contribute to it? Let me
know when you figure it out.
Back to the Main Page
Copyright © 1996, SkyWolf Productions