Such a mean spirited woman. I am so tired of these sort of small minded people.
Racism and dementia? Can’t imagine being that family and having to live next door to this witch.
Indiana. Huh.
Sickening. I hope the other neighbors went out of their way to be welcoming.
How awful. And now they get to move in, ugh.
It’s more than mean spirited-it’s hateful. And disturbing.
I’d be over there in a minute with freshly baked banana bread, an offer to stay in the house to wait for the cable guy, and an offer to loan them a car whenever one of theirs is in the shop. I mean, really.
Having a black neighbor will make her “stressed.” Give me a break.
@VeryHappy You and me both.
It never fails to amaze me that far too many people judge each other on color (or similar). Their whole idea of who that person is depends upon what they see.
I know my MIL once spent time watching a skater at a mall while taking quick glances at her own arm. I asked her if something was wrong and she said, “No. I’m just trying to decide if that girl out there is black or just has a dark tan like mine. What do you think?” I’m pretty sure I picked my jaw up off the floor because I wasn’t raised in that sort of environment (thankfully H and BIL have differing views).
Now I use that example in class to demonstrate just how utterly dumb it is to think the person’s whole value in someone’s mind depends upon the answer between “black or dark tan.” It gets through to kids so hopefully there is some purpose in the experience. End the cycle.
The above comments make me think of what I found to be a horribly awkward conversation I overheard when I was working at the middle school as a lunchroom volunteer. It went like this
Girl one putting her arm next to girl 2: “Hey Jane look, your arm is darker than mine.”
Girl 2: uh huh so?
Girl 1 Well did you know my moms black?
Girl 2: Yeah I’ve seen your mom
Girl 1: Well it just seems weird when I’m half black that you’re darker than me
Girl 2: Well I’m Jewish and a lot of Jewish people get dark especially in summer.
Girl 1: I guess that’s true. My dads Jewish and his brothers are really dark. But he’s not. And my mom is light skinned.
Do you know why my mom says some black people are light skinned
Girl2: why ( said super warily)
Girl 1: Because slaves were raped
Girl 2: oh my god Alana, that’s horrible! Can we change the subject you’re freaking me out.
I who was stationed at a pizza selling table inches away thought please, please do. I had no idea if I should say anything but thought probably not.
^Reality shouldn’t be something too uncomfortable to talk about.
My son’s high school best friend was an Indian-American. One day in high school about 2 years ago, I heard that this friend’s family had to move about 30 miles away to this small town that is 99.9% white, and the first thing that went through my mind was, “uh oh…” Then, shortly after they had settled down into a new house, I read in the newspaper that a group of the town’s high school kids smeared their garage with dog feces, peppered the house with about 40 eggs, toilet papers and over 50 hate messages and racial slurs, prompting a hate crime investigation by the FBI.
What I liked to remember about this case, though, is how the community in that town came together the very next day and cleaned up the whole house in a unified gesture of love and welcome.
Just another day in murica.
‘Reality shouldn’t be something too uncomfortable to talk about.”
You are 100 percent right. But that didn’t stop me feeling uncomfortable with overhearing this discussion among 11 year olds.
By the time kids are 11 years old, they may notice that not everyone who is called “black” has dark skin, and perhaps start asking questions.
http://theundefeated.com/features/isaiah-hartenstein-nba-draft-2017/
I don’t think kids talking about skin color and being curious and observant is a problem at all. As long as it doesn’t get judgey.
I used to think it was funny when Obama gave his State of the Union Address in late January and John Boehner would be standing behind him on one side looking aggressively fake tanned and darker than POTUS.
I actually think the conversation between the 11 yr olds is a textbook example of kids having a good conversation about multiple identities and the vagaries of skin color and how classifying people by it is a faulty concept. Especially since it was initiated by the mixed race child. The serendipity of their mutual Jewishness–a potential “othering” factor that they share, making neither the “other”–is rather dellightful, IMHO.
“I actually think the conversation between the 11 yr olds is a textbook example of kids having a good conversation about multiple identities and the vagaries of skin color and how classifying people by it is a faulty concept. Especially since it was initiated by the mixed race child. The serendipity of their mutual Jewishness–a potential “othering” factor that they share, making neither the “other”–is rather dellightful, IMHO.”
I agree with you. Nonetheless it felt awkward. Especially the rape issue which is very accurate but still felt disturbing. It was my issue. Not theirs. As for the Jewish thing around here the joke is that everyone is so I’m not sure most kids think of it as an “ other” quality until they are older. Indeed once when I was talking about how my daughters kindergarten class was all Jewish my friend was like “That can’t be true. What about ‘Alana Miller’ ? ( girl one above) or ‘Molly Yang (bi racial Asian). I told her that while both girls had a non Jewish parent both had one that was and were indeed being raised Jewish and both went to Sunday school with my kid. The make up of our suburb is how my daughters each ended up going to 100 bar and bat mitzvahs.
When my D was in preschool, she was very upset NOT to be mixed race because the kids in her class were comparing ancestries. She finally resolved it for herself, saying she’s x race and y religion.