Racism

I don’t usually write about this kind of thing but lately it’s on my mind. Recently I had a conversation with a friend who happens to be a black woman. She was telling me how racism isn’t just relegated to the stereotypical between races bigotry. Apparently there is racism within races.

Now I know I tend to go through life in a little bit of a goofy, whatever happens - happens type of mindset, but I truthfully had no idea about this issue. While we were talking I was stunned to hear some things I was told.

She said that within black communities and even within families that some people are racist. She has a relative that has darker skin and he doesn’t like darker skinned people. He only likes light skinned women or white women. He even shuns his own children that were born with darker skin.

She told me that an ex-boyfriend of hers had a Grandmother that would not allow the darker skinned grandkids into her home. She hated their skin color. Then she told me about a friend of hers that is from Puerto Rico. She has darker skin than her siblings and has naturally curly hair. Her siblings have lighter skin color and straight hair, so she was basically shunned by her family and now they don’t even talk to her anymore.

I had no idea this type of thing was common. It has been on my mind since our conversation. But when I think about it, I shouldn’t be surprised at all. I’ve known white people who react the same way. I just didn’t pay any attention. For instance, I knew a white guy who hated anyone with red hair. To him, that was a sign of inferiority. I have no idea how a person can come to that conclusion. Or there is the obvious example of groups like the skin-heads who hate anyone not like them. Even whites if they are silly enough to be born Jewish or something like that.


I remember the first time I realized my Mother was a bit of a racist. I had a crush on this very pretty black girl and we started hanging out together. (I think I was about 12-13 at the time.) One day she came to visit and when she left my Mom told me she wasn’t allowed in her house. She wasn’t ‘our kind’. That was my first real experience with it and it left me feeling like my Mother was a jerk. I wasn’t impressed at all. I was ashamed that she could say that about someone. We lived in a poor neighborhood and the population was probably 50-50 black and white. It never occurred to me that something was wrong with having black friends. Needless to say, I ignored her, which is what teenagers will do anyway when it comes to almost anything a parent will tell them. But this time, I had good reason to ignore her opinion.


I just don’t get this. I sometimes can be naive about stuff, but interracial racism is a new concept to me. It’s been there but I guess I just didn’t pay attention. The thing is racism doesn’t make sense to me in any form. People are born as they are. They don’t have a choice about what they look like. How can that be held against them? Guilt by association is not a good reason for any kind of hate.

These types of attitudes seem to be especially prevalent with older people. Whether they are black or white doesn’t seem to matter. I worked with a black lady for years who was the biggest racist I’ve met to date. She was a pretty cool person except for that. When her son started dating a white woman, you would have thought the world was ending. But the older people went through a lot more bigotry than people my age or younger. I think as time goes on, it should just keep getting better. I hope so.

Personally, if I like someone or they are attractive to me, I don’t care what race they are. If a woman is sexy, she’s sexy. If a person is interesting, they are OK with me. I just don’t get the whole ‘superior race’ concept. I especially don’t get being prejudiced against a family member for looking different than you do. That makes me believe that the human race still has a very long way to go.