Of Washers and Racism

I finally found the trick to making the washer where I'm staying run through the entire cycle! Minor accomplishment, but you don't know how good that makes me feel this morning. *chuckle* Up until this morning, the machine's stopped after agitating for a while and then I've had to run the dial around, popping it in and out at various spots, to get it to rinse and then get it it spin. Frustrating! So.... what do you have to do to keep it working through the cycle? Why take your fist and whop it on the lid twice! *sigh* And to think it was so completely simple.

Well, the day is off to a good start, so now all I have to do is climb a couple of mountains of stuff to get done, write my article for the newsletter, pay bills (yuck!), attend a meeting, and go to the grocery store (to put it mildly my cupboard has gone bare!). Mundane stuff, I know, but it's part of life.

I'm still watching Black. White. I'll admit it. I think I'm hooked on this one. About the time I decide it's a waste of time, someone does or says something which intrigues me. We finally got to see a bit more of the son this week. In some ways, he plays to the stereotype of the teen African-American (and I realize that this isn't only a black phenomenon) - there's a bit of the gang wannabe about him; rap music; if he wants something and has the money, he buys it, even if it wipes him out financially; he's been expelled from school and doesn't see any reason for working on his GED or trying to go to college or get a job (which is interesting because both of his parents are college educated and work).

I am intrigued by the fact that he truly doesn't see any racism directed toward him, or others, for that matter. He isn't hyper-vigilant for behavior that singles him out because of his race. The fact that he doesn'tsee it really bothers his dad a lot! In fact, his father feels he's failed as a father for not teaching his son these things. Which raises some questions for me - Does one have to be hyper-vigilant in order to root out racism? Or do we eliminate racism by becoming color-blind? Or does being color-blind simply ignore the problem and 'hope it goes away'? In some respects, he's like Bruno (the white adult) who believes that racism doesn't truly exist, but it's a matter of treating each other with respect. (Nothing wrong about that last part, unfortunately, I don't think we've gotten past the racism yet.) The next question becomes "how do we get everyone to treat each other with respect?"

When I was in Idabel, the community went through a planning process to develop some goals to help both the schools and community grow. One of the things which seemed to irritate the youth was that the adults seemed focused on racial issues, while they were focused on issues related more to equality in terms of economics. For them, it didn't matter what color your skin was (and this community has some interesting history related to African-Americans being brought to the area as Native American slaves). It mattered more that there were people who were hungry, living in families where alcoholism and domestic violence were everyday experiences, who didn't have much to hope for in terms of opportuniies for improvement (at least as seen from their perspectives).

Maybe they're right. Maybe it's time for us to look beyond the old patterns of discrimination and realize that the economic divide is a greater gap, and one that's probably a bit harder to leap if you're on the lower end of the payscale. Not impossible, mind you, but definitely filled with more hurdles to jump. I applaud those youth who were (and are) concerned that each of their peers be treated as equals! Isn't this a reminder that 'a little child shall lead them'? They don't have to be so little to teach us a thing or two, do they?