I grew up in a bubble, around primarily immigrant white farmers. I was always taught to never to judge others by the color of their skin, so I didn’t. I still don’t. Majority of my life I’ve lived this way. My town is community minded. We try to help each other out, never a question of race or lifestyle, maybe your attitude though.
Entertainment growing up, I watched a lot of shows. My parents explained to me certain things like how black people were treated when they were growing up, so I would understand the story lines better. I remember watching “The Jeffersons” and they had a white man/black woman couple on the show. I never thought much about it until George made a comment about it. So my parents had to clarify why it was a big deal. I thought, ‘Cool. They chose to go against the norms and were happy.’ Same kind of thing when people made a big deal about “The Cosby Show”. Again, I was young, so I didn’t understand why. I was told that black families weren’t shown being affluent.
In my teenage years, I listened to Salt-N-Pepa and watched “Living Single”. I enjoyed them, and still do, without thinking or knowing how groundbreaking both of them were. It wasn’t as talked about. Maybe it was and I just didn’t watch the shows or read the magazines that talked about it. I just simply enjoyed.
My bubble didn’t start bursting until I was in my late 20s/early 30s. I wasn’t exposed to racist language or thought growing up. I’m not so sheltered that I thought that racism didn’t exist anymore, it just never entered my bubble. Then I went to work at a union plant. WHAT AN EYE OPENER! Some people were passive with their racism, while others were very open with their racism when around friends. It didn’t matter what race they were, they were racist against other races. I’m still being thrown for a loop.
Then the whipped cream and cherry on top of this poop sundae, I started watching ‘Karen’ videos. WOW! I never knew that people could have that much anger for complete strangers. I really thought that people like ‘Permit Patty’ were a rare creature only to find out they’re not! Talk about having your mind blown. Why not just people alone? If they are actively hurting or disrupting your day, why get involved?
I’ve also started watching videos from different viewpoints from my own. Talking about racist most white people are. Once again, I’ve never been great at putting a large group together to put them in a negative light, unless they’re politicians. Some of what they call racism is simply a misunderstanding. Most of the people I grew up with don’t think about race daily. We mainly thought how certain tasks in life were going to get done with the little money they had. I’ve known people who have used dirt to help clean dishes. Yep, you read that correctly. It’s readily available around your house for free and a great abrasive to get those stubborn, crusted on foods off your pots & pans.
Have my eyes opened to the racism out in the world? Yes. Is it only found in America? Far from it! People will always have a bias against people who didn’t grow up in their bubble, it happens. It’s human nature. Can we learn to expand our bubble? Yes.
I’m want to leave you with this song that a friend of mine sang to me a few years ago and I fell in love with it. It’s from Avenue Q. It was recorded 12 years ago, but I think people need to hear it again. It goes with what I said in the previous paragraph. Enjoy!
Made Dames 