Some Thoughts On Racism

I really didn't intend this to be a political blog.  I think there are many others who have articulated the things that are important to me, politically, much better than I could here.  That said, there are some disturbing social themes popping up left and right after the election, and one of these is racism.

First, there was the co-worker who, a month or two ago, saw that I was reading a Toni Morrison book on my break and started to rant at me about how Obama and Black Lives Matter created racism, that there wasn't any racism before Obama, and that there weren't any racist presidents before Obama.  I made a sarcastic comment that she took for sincere, so she thought I was actually agreeing with her and started ranting some more about black people.  She stopped, though, after my expression slowly changed from this:

To this:

She hasn't really spoken to me since.  And, you know, I am just fine with that.

Then, I started reading the book Tarzan, thinking it would be a fun adventure story to take my mind off heavier topics.  Holy racism, batman.  The Tarzan movies I've seen (I haven't seen the new one yet) hadn't ever mentioned that Tarzan encountered native African tribes, so I was quite surprised to read Edgar Rice Burrough's opinions on the "savage African cannibals" that Tarzan encounters in the jungle.  There are a lot of Tarzan books, so, enclosed therein, are a lot of racist comments.  I kept on reading the books, because, honestly, I was a bit fascinated by what the "normal" opinions were in the 1910s and '20s.  I didn't get all the way through the books, because by then the political climate in the US started to revert to overt racism and I didn't want to lose what's left of my hope for humanity.

(I like the story of Tarzan but it definitely illustrates how the opinion of the day was that a white man is superior to everyone and everything else.)

So I took a break from reading Tarzan and instead picked up a book called "The Sea Captain's Wife" which I picked up because I like historic and adventure memoirs, and it turned out to be about a woman who, right after the Civil War, married a black sea captain.  I really really love that book, although it's pretty depressing.  Not only did I learn about racism in the 1830s-60s, but I learned a lot about the politics of the Civil War, something that is becoming more relevant with each passing day.

(I highly recommend this book.)

And then, of course, I am reading on facebook and from online news sources about how people are being treated in this post-election nightmare.  I don't live in a metropolitan area, so I'm not seeing much post-election nastiness, other than yard signs saying, "We may be deplorable, but WE WON" and suchlike.  And now there is, of course, the announcement of Trump's appointing blatant racists to fill his cabinet.  And honestly, racism has me baffled.  It doesn't make any sense to me how someone's skin color has any more bearing on how they are treated than their hair color or eye color.  But obviously it is a huge issue right now.  And I honestly don't have an answer as to how to fight it, because it seems a stupidly easy thing to say, "people come in different colors and that's normal and fine", and yet it trips up so many people that I am just dumbfounded.

So there's the safety pin thing, which, if you didn't get the memo, is about wearing a safety pin that signifies your willingness to intervene if someone is being hurt or bullied, etc...

Which makes my Barbarian heart happy, because I am totally willing to help people and fight for a cause I believe in.  Except that now Trump supporters are wearing safety pins to confuse people, so it's not a completely meaningful thing anymore.  However, I've seen safety pins with rainbow beads on them, and that seems like a better thing to wear.  People who oppress others are less likely to wear obvious LGBTQ pride colors.  I bought a rainbow beanie to wear during winter (it is on order so I have to wait for it to get here, le sigh), but Pride colors are a lot easier to find than something that says, "I'm not a racist unlike most of the people that live around here."  But standing up for people of a different sexuality, religion, and heritage are all very important things to do, especially now that hateful voices have gotten louder.

Also, it's pretty important to support causes that fight racism.  I'll link to another website here that lists some: 
Racial Equity Resource Guide

It seriously pisses me off that some of my friends are being called racial slurs and threatened because of their skin color.  Friends have been harassed at gas stations, called slurs, and bullied by their own families.  That's not OK with me.

(Nobody fucks with my friends.)

I don't remember hearing very many racist things at all growing up, but now I'm concerned that my kids will pick it up from their peers.  So, if you're a parent, please talk to your children about being kind to everyone, and, most of all, lead by example.  'Kay, now I'll get off my soapbox.