I have never thought of myself as being predjudice towards any race. I do admit to being prejudiced toward some kinds of people, regardless of their color. I am prejudiced against people who think they are above the law. I am prejudiced against people who commit crimes. But I never really feel prejudiced against someone because of their race. All my life, I have been told that whites are prejudice. I have been accused of being prejudiced simply because of my race, not because of any actions on my part. I felt that I couldn't even discuss the issue without somehow saying something that made me sound prejudiced. I need to state this all up front so you understand what I have to say next.
The one good thing that has come out of Obama's election is that maybe now, the blacks will see that we aren't all prejudiced. The percentage of blacks in this country, compared with whites, is much lower. But a black president was still elected. That means to me that the majority of people who voted for him were not black. I can honestly say that every time someone made a comment about how Obama might be the first black president, I had this thought that was like, "Oh yea, he is black, isn't he?" Can we all finally get past this?
I was thinking about the movie "The Other Side of Heaven", about an LDS missionary who served in Tonga. At one point in the movie, a Tongan woman tries to get him to impregnate her teenage daughter so they can have a half white grandbaby. When he refuses, she says to him, "Do you think you are too good for our brown skin?" He says, "I love your brown skin!". That is honestly how I feel about the color of dark skinned people. I actually think we whites look a little pale. lol The other day I was in Walmart behind a black couple. I noticed that the woman was purchasing a product labeled, "skin whitener". I wanted so much to tap her on the shoulder and say, "Why do you want to use that? Your skin is beautiful the way it is!" I normally am quite outspoken, but I wasn't sure how she would take that, so I remained silent.
Maybe having Obama as president will finally show everyone that we can look past race and skin color. I know it's not an issue for me, I would still have voted for McCain, no matter if his race was different from mine. The only way we are going to get past prejudice is if we are allowed the opportunity to move on.
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4 comments:
Amen. I get sick of people always complaining about the way they are treated. EVERYONE can claim maltreatment at some point in their life. I am just sick of hearing people feel a need to blame other and never take any responsibility on how their lives turn out. There are LOTS of successful people who worked hard... like Oprah Winfrey. She is such a great person, people need to look past skin color.. and I think that most people do.
I am like you, I am prejudice against people who commit crimes, are entitled jerks, etc. I especially have a hard time being nice to the sex offenders I have to work with. Those are the most heinous crimes....
He did carry 96% of the African-American vote though...
I agree - as soon as he had won that's all anyone could talk about was him being the first black president, which I totally understand is important but I just kept thinking - is THAT why he got elected, just because people wanted a first black president? - I certainly hope not. As for the skin whitener, it was probably to lighten a scar or an age spot, cause that's what the dr. recommended for me for the age spots I have on the scar on my hand from my burn.
Like Stephen Colbert, I don't see color. I was recently telling a friend about a girl I'd met, and when I said her name he asked, "Is she a sista'?" I really didn't know, even though we'd talked for hours. Turns out, she is, but I didn't realize it until the next time I spent time with her.
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