Just apologize for being born and move on.Monica Jackson paid me a – I think it was a compliment but I’m probably not “ethnic” (is that the PC term? No? Yes? I care.) enough to know if it’s just a subtle slam so I’ll take it as a compliment because that’s just my way. She said,
“Ferfe is too black. She’s just passin`." It doesn’t really matter what I am genetically, because I am whatever people see me as regardless of any personal delusions I may entertain about who I am in my own little head. Why bring the subject up? Because Angel Puff is home for the weekend from college and, along with a horrifically bad case of strep throat, she has returned with a question very few humans in the civilized world want to ever answer.
“Am I racist?”She has apparently been inundated with accusations and cannot have even a minor debate on politics or social issues without the conversation denigrating into dismissive personal slams that she s a racist and thus cannot possibly be capable of carrying on an intelligent conversation about anything of importance. Subjects that slapped her with the “R” label?
• Having lived in El Paso Texas for a year, she believes the fence Bush is building is a good thing because the schools on the border are inundated with illegal aliens, medical services are struggling to the point of third world levels of service and diseases like TB are reaching epic proportions because people are not coming into the country through legal channels that would insure that they are reasonably healthy and paying into the taxes that support the schools and public services. It’ not the only view point, but it is hers and she came by it through personal experience with the problem first hand, which is more than anyone who hasn’t lived on the border can say. She was called a racist by a Peruvian-American. She wants to know why someone born in Miami by way of parents from Peru would even care about a fence along the Mexican border? Good question kid. I’ll attempt an answer in a few minutes.
• She was at a house party and, after making the rounds inside and outside she noted that inside the house everyone was Asian and outside the house everyone was white with one African-American girl. Jokingly she asked the whites, "Why?". The African-American girl immediately answered, “Girl. I knew you were a racist the second you walked out here.” Angel Puff attempted to defend the question and had her ass handed to her. About thirty minutes later one of the people inside came out and ask, “Hey! How come everyone is segregated?” Angel Puff wanted to know WTH the difference was between her asking the question and him asking the question? Good question kid. I’ll attempt an answer in a few minutes.
• She has been asked by numerous African-American boys to have sex. She says in the first few seconds of conversation they lay out exactly what they want and when she says she isn’t interested she is labeled a racist. She would like to know why preferring to be asked on a date, wanting to get to know a man long enough to have some kind of relationship before sleeping with them and just generally expecting basic polite courtesy is a racist thing? She wouldn’t give the time of day to a white boy who talked to her that way, why should she take it from any other guy regardless of race? Good question kid. I’ll attempt an answer in a few minutes.
She wants to know why “they” hate “us”? This is basically the answer in a nutshell and a sad social development for a teenager. She’s pretty well traveled, speaks Spanish and English, has been living within a stones throw of one of the most culturally diverse cities in America and never once used the terms “us” and “them” to refer to anyone. Angel Puff is now very aware of the fact that, regardless of having a pretty ethnically diverse genealogy chart, she is actually very, very white.
“But. I registered as a Democrat!”
“Doesn’t help.”
“My roommate’s mother is extremely active in civil rights groups.”
“She’s white. Nothing she does can change that.”
“So. Am I a racist?”
“You are white and that makes you a racist before you even open your mouth. Just apologize for being born white and move on with the friendship. You can’t defend a thousand years of history. You can’t justify, vilify or even quantify the actions of anyone other than yourself. White equals racist. It’s not worth arguing over distinctions or claiming American-Indian-Jewish grandparents and born-liberal-again political views. You pass for white. You are racist. If you want people to get to know you beyond that, you just have to take ownership of that label and then move the conversation on to more interesting and productive levels.”
“Sucks.”
“There are worse things in life and most people are not like what you are seeing in college. Once everyone is working for a living and raising kids of their own you’ll get to move past being racist to join the class wars … one hate at a time Angel Puff.”
She went out yesterday and had her hair dyed almost black. She says she might blend a little better at least. I decided not to mention that her skin is so pale white she practically glows in the dark. We'll take her out on the boat later and try to restore some of the tan she's lost up North if possible. Whatever works, man.
Hey. She’s not your kid. Raise yours any way you want.