Racism Exists

The other day I was in a big chain store and I experienced the worst kind of racism.  There was a conversation going on with a little boy, about age 6, and his mother, both white.  The conversation played out like this:


Little Boy:  Mom, are all black people crazy, stupid niggers?
The Mom:  Yes, baby most of them!

You can imagine the look of shock and disgust on my face.  I turned around and looked this woman right in the face and told her:

Me:  First of all, you need to teach your child decorum. He needs to know when and where to ask a question.  Second, all black people are not ignorant and at this point you are more of a nigger than any black person standing in this store. 

The Mom:  This was a private conversation.

Me:  The conversation happened loud enough so that everybody in this store can hear you.  The fact that you think it's okay for your child to ask the question and for your response to be yes is perplexing.  I guess you haven't realized that The President is black and he is neither crazy, stupid nor a nigger.  Get your life together.

That was the end of the conversation with this woman.  I kept my cool when I could have easily proved her point about black people.  The next lady that approached her was not as nice as I was.  She was yelling at the woman while this woman stood in a store with a lot of black people.  She didn't seem to care what the woman was saying but the look on her face when I was talking in calm tone seemed to have scared her. 

I didn't want to frighten the woman, I want her to think about what she was teaching her child.  I know for sure the racism is a learned behavior.  Teaching racism to your child is a form of abuse, in my opinion.  I have experienced racism my entire life but I have never let it define me.  I think that white people think that racism no longer exists as it did.  For me and the black people I know, racism is alive and well.  We are discriminated against while driving, while shopping and while working.  It may be more subtle but believe me it's there.  I must admit that some black people think everything is racist but I'm not among them.  I know what racism feels like.  It attempts to cut deep.

President Obama can't change the minds of people who are racist.  The Tea Party exist to promote racism.  If you don't believe that statement, just listen to them speak.  I have learned in my life that people will judge you first on how you look.  The first thing you see is the color of your skin.  My hope for my kids is that they never judge a person until they have had a chance to know them.  I would never teach my children to hate and when you teach a child to hate they become an adult who hates.