race
A very interesting post about racism. We’ve been giving this a lot of thought lately. While Ben won’t have to face the very tough issues that surround being an African American male, I think he will face some issues being Hispanic, especially if all this immigration stuff continues to flare tempers.
Right now he’s always with one of us, and I’ve only had one person (the infamous “he mixed” conversation) point out the fact that he doesn’t really look like his red haired, fair skinned mama. But one day he’s going to be out on his own, in school or walking down the street or whatever. And there will be expectations for him based on how he looks. He’ll get it from both sides, too. The Latin American community will expect him to act a certain way, and so will quite a few white people. I’m not sure how to help him face this.
Back to that racism link… I worked with an African American woman when I was teaching and she had the absolute nicest kids I have ever met. Well-dressed, well-mannered, smart… teenagers no less! We had several good conversations about them over the years and it all boiled down to what was discussed in that post. She knew they had to be polite, had to work hard in school, had to present the nice front because there were people who would judge them based just on their appearance. She, too, was such a nice quiet person.. but I saw her get mad the one time we discussed shopping and she relayed how it felt to be followed around a store just because of her skin color.
I know I’ve led a sheltered life. These were the first insights I really had into what racism feels like from the other side. I am worried that I don’t have the skills to help Ben face what he might face in the future. But I do know that having him well dressed and well mannered is a start. Which means I also have to be well dressed and well mannered, because otherwise there’s a double standard, right? I get to look sloppy because I’m white and people don’t judge me so quickly?
No easy answers, of course. I just wish I could protect him from those who would judge him without knowing him. Because, he’s only one, but I can already see that he’s an amazing person.