Seems like that's a dirty word these days! With the recent announcement that several Dr. Seuss books were no longer going to be published, I got to thinking about Racism---again. It's hard not to as it's in our face ALL the time these days.
There are so many things that are considered racist now. After reading The Caste, I get it. I really do. But still, there are things that were never meant to be harmful and were embraced by the black community. I don't need to go in to all the food brands---you've heard it before. Or any other strictly black organizations, publications, etc.
There are still things I just don't understand. Like the word antebellum. Now-a-days, that is really a dirty word. So dirty that Lady A changed their name. Surely they meant no malintent when they chose it years ago. I never associated that word with blacks and I don't think they did either. To me it just meant the south (which is almost another dirty word). So, knowing me, you can expect that I would look up the definition.
an·te·bel·lum
/ˌan(t)ēˈbeləm/
adjective
- occurring or existing before a particular war, especially the American Civil War.
That seems pretty harmless to me. It just means a time period.
I've been guilty of enjoying a good Pollock joke. Yet, I have absolutely nothing again Poles, nor do I thing they are dumb. I don't think blondes are dumb either---I'm proof of that. But I love a good dumb blonde joke. Does that make me a bad person or worse yet, racist? I sure hope not.
One thing I've noticed is that people are much more aware---which is a good thing. But, BUT, I've also noticed that people will say, "I'm not racist or anything"---right before they say something that's racist. I am MORE aware for sure.
Just last week when we went for our first dose of the vaccine (again, I think it's cool that there is no explanation necessary. When you say "vaccine" everyone knows what you mean), there was a lady in line behind us. She decided to chat me up. She was asking for good restaurant recommendations that offer senior options (didn't really have anything to offer except Cracker Barrel). Anyway, she started telling me about a place and said, "I'm not racist, but the place is full of hispanics." My first thought was, "Why does that matter?" My second thought was, "Are you kidding me? You are Asian!" Now there I go being racist. No hurt intended---just an observation. See what I mean? A slippery slope. A VERY slippery slope.
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