This is my dad.
He's a nice enough guy and a professional, but he's kind of scary looking if you don't know him. He has the beard and his eyes don't open equally (Bell's Palsy). He's large and when he rides his motorcycle he usually wears a leather vest.
Once upon a time Dad was on his motorcycle going about 20 over in front of a school. He got stopped and he was carrying a loaded pistol in his pocket and didn't have his concealed carry permit with him. After asking him about his gun and why he was going so fast the officer gave him a warning and let him go.
This is my brother-in-law Billy.
Tall, thin (but strong), well-groomed black man. This outfit is as casual as he gets. No kidding, Billy is FANCY.
Nearly every time Billy gets stopped by a traffic cop they ask him to get out of the car. Now, he's very careful. He turns off his car, puts his keys on the dashboard and hands on the wheel. He asks permission before reaching for his registration and explains exactly where his license is before taking his wallet from his pocket.
Once in college he was handcuffed and held on the hood of a car (he still has some scarring from the burns) until the ran his ID and realized who he was.
Now tell me racism isn't real. Tell me these discussions are overblown. No. It's not ok that you're racist against a certain group because of where you're from. It's not ok to use a racial slur just because no one from the group it refers to is present.
I want to make it clear that I'm not saying we have to be ultra PC all the time. I told my students that my brother-in-law was black and they told me to stop being racist. That's not racism and that level of sensitivity needs to be eliminated, but this is a real thing that real people are dealing with daily. And it's not fair.
2 comments:
That is not okay. I really hope this isn't happening as often as it seems, but if it is things really badly need to change.
I love Ginger
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