Less Than 24 Hours
Sadly, it took less than 24 hours for my post-election glow bubble to burst.
Yesterday evening, C told me about racist jokes that were traveling around his school.
Sigh.
We have come so far in this country, yet we still have so, so far to go.
I having been thinking about what to do, if anything, in light of this. I think I have decided to call the assistant principal and suggest that now might be an excellent time to have some workshops and activities in the school.
We can do better.
Yes we can.
3 comments:
:-(
Q said the kids on the bus were saying horrible things about Obama - not necessarily racist, but ugly. I was furious. It made Q quite uncomfortable. The bus driver told the kids to stop but they claimed she was suppressing their rights to free speech. Bah.
I think it's probably to be expected. It's like the last, thrashing screams from something that's dying. (gross analogy - sorry).
Poor C. I think it would definitely be worth calling the A.P. At least, he/she should know what's going on. Apathy is a dangerous thing.
J - my bubble is starting to burst too, from thinking about the seemingly unmanageable mess that this new administration is faced with. I want to cry, but so far am making myself stick to "Yes we can." I think we've got to help each other hold on to that. It's going to be a long, hard path.
BTW - that analogy was meant to describe the last throes of racism and the inevitable backlashes as it becomes less and less "vogue."
I realized I was jumping from thought to thought and sounding rather, um - erratic.
(That's what happens during the adrenaline letdown. That, and insomnia, apparently.)
At least your kids are lucky enough to have a home environment that reinforces the fact that these sorts of hateful things aren't acceptable. That's (sadly) more than most of these kids sound like they have!
But one happy thing--despite the awkwardness and the cruelty of kids and the ignorance and the racism, just think what kind of message Obama's election sends to little black kids and mixed-race kids.
My C is biracial (with an Arabic middle name, no less!). The idea that he can do anything he sets his mind to isn't just an aphorism anymore--he'll see it as he grows up. So will all of these kids. They'll come to terms with it.
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