I'm Not a Racist.
StiffDroodle
Published
08/29/2012
Being the daughter of an ordained minister has advantages that a lot of other children simply do not receive. For example acting with proper civility in mixed company was an early lesson. Proper posture, good grammar and respect for others was always demanded, so as to impress upon the community that we were a fine family. Our dignity and good standing was earned, not assumed.
However, when we were alone with family and close friends, we would loosen our tongues and make jokes that would other wise get glares from the church ladies. Some were so racist and bad that I'm sure excommunication would have resulted if we were ever caught. Black jokes, Gay jokes, Mexican and Chinese, we would let them rip especially after drinking some of the sacramental wine.
I remember going for drives with my parents, Mom and Dad, every time they'd see a black person they'd say something, like, " Why is that, (insert N word) running"? "Probably robbed Lucas." Would be the standard reply. Lucas owned the town shop in our area. One time our family went to a convention in Chicago and we saw a lot of Black people. My mother said, " Hmmm, them blacks are as thick as thieves here." I blurted out, "That's because they are thieves". My Momma gave me the death stare and then burst into laughter. "Now mind that tongue of yours. One day, it might give you trouble." She reminded me.
As you know bad drivers plague our city streets. We use to play a game of guess the ethnicity of the driver making errors. We honed our skills so sharply, that we pretty well nailed Chinese mistakes from Mexican and blacks. After a while we even could predict Arabs and gays as more and more moved into our area.
Of course, that type of behaviour was not permitted out in the open, because under that circumstance we considered it bad behaviour and would not really reflect the good loving, respectable people we are. It's just a relief for us after we play our parts on the stage that is life. Deep down we are not racist in any way, but we all have a great sense of humour that we need to share as a family.
However, when we were alone with family and close friends, we would loosen our tongues and make jokes that would other wise get glares from the church ladies. Some were so racist and bad that I'm sure excommunication would have resulted if we were ever caught. Black jokes, Gay jokes, Mexican and Chinese, we would let them rip especially after drinking some of the sacramental wine.
I remember going for drives with my parents, Mom and Dad, every time they'd see a black person they'd say something, like, " Why is that, (insert N word) running"? "Probably robbed Lucas." Would be the standard reply. Lucas owned the town shop in our area. One time our family went to a convention in Chicago and we saw a lot of Black people. My mother said, " Hmmm, them blacks are as thick as thieves here." I blurted out, "That's because they are thieves". My Momma gave me the death stare and then burst into laughter. "Now mind that tongue of yours. One day, it might give you trouble." She reminded me.
As you know bad drivers plague our city streets. We use to play a game of guess the ethnicity of the driver making errors. We honed our skills so sharply, that we pretty well nailed Chinese mistakes from Mexican and blacks. After a while we even could predict Arabs and gays as more and more moved into our area.
Of course, that type of behaviour was not permitted out in the open, because under that circumstance we considered it bad behaviour and would not really reflect the good loving, respectable people we are. It's just a relief for us after we play our parts on the stage that is life. Deep down we are not racist in any way, but we all have a great sense of humour that we need to share as a family.
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