i grew up with for better or worse cartoons. mike the oldest child is about my age. and now elizabeth, the second child is growing up and falling in love.
this cartoon, from a few days ago, really struck me. and it's worth sharing.
the revgalblogpals friday four was this:
Tell us four things you have made a practice at some time or other in your life. Feel free to interpret the word "practice" as widely and deeply as you like. Did you stick with it? Was it too much? Did it change you?
of all the things that i've "practiced" in my life the idea of prejudice and ridding it from my life is constant. am i an accepting person? (let me toot my own horn here) yes, i am. do i judge others based upon color, religion, sexuality, etc... (toot, toot) hardly. and yet, i have found that not being prejudice is something that takes practice.
a very wise man once told me that racism requires three things: power, prejudice, and priveledge. just by virture of the color of my skin (which happens to be white) society has given me two out of the three: power and priveledge. i didn't ask for it or even do much to deserve it, but as a white woman i have power and priveledge by default.
and that makes it pretty easy to cross that line from accepting to racist.
that means that i have to practice acceptance and recognize those times that stereotypes or fear sneak into my judgement of others. it takes work to love unconditionally, to accept others at face value, to not let society paint a picture of one particular group of people.
so that's it...one of four things that i practice. the other three don't seem nearly as important.
God's peace y'all
6 comments:
Oh yeah, you gotta love For Better or Worse. I still choke up when I read the series when Farley dies and now I love reading about Mike and his kids...
Actually, Elizabeth's mother was instrumental in getting them together..... when she left her glasses at the police station where Mike is stationed!
I've also read this cartoon every day for years!
oops...... Mike is the brother, sorry and now I forgot the boyfriend's name!
UUGH
Food for thought on this Oscar Eve Saturday! Thanks...
STB
I too love For Better or Worse. And that particular strip from a few days ago I have on my fridge.
I loved your comments and thoughts Cats. I think most people, even the most open-minded, sometimes catch themselves
stereotyping someone. It may not be a race thing, or a sexual orientation thing, it may be about someone being very overweight, or having tatoos, or piercings, or an accent, or wealth, or a disability of some sort.
I toot my own horn on this subject as well, and yet I recognize rare moments when I fall into a thought that does not meet my own standard. But I think recognizing that moment, and working to overcome it is what makes a difference.
I'm very lucky to live in a hugely diverse community of people. I wouldn't want it any other way.
I love that cartoon. I remember when I (a white girl) was dating my brown-skinned Latin husband and my white girlfriend was dating an Indian (whom she ended up marrying) and her boyfriend made some kind of a comment about us both being inter-racial couples. I was honestly taken aback because I had not thought about it. I certainly recognized my husband's good looks, but didn't think that he was "another race."
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