A friend posted something in his live journal site (which I would link to but it's friends only) about the racism of his home town. I replied that it isn't really a problem unique to the rural small town deep South. Which has got me thinking more about the subject in general.
The Monday at work after I saw "Avenue Q" a guy at work stopped by my office and commented that he'd seen me there. We chatted about the show and which were our favorite songs from it. I favored "Schadenfreude" while he cited "Everybody's a Little Bit Racist." My unspoken reaction was that of course it would be since he is a black man with corn-rowed hair who dressed in somewhat unusual style (rather sharp, actually, but a bit flamboyant and sort of androgynous). But how much am I wondering how other people react to him versus trying to figure out what my own reaction is? It pretty much proves the point of the song.
I like to think I'm reasonably free of prejudices, but I still clutch my bag a bit tighter if I see dark-skinned teenagers in baggy clothes on the street than I do if I'm near an older woman in a business suit. How much is race, how much is gender, how much is age? How much is reasonable and how much is prejudice?
Nearly 10 years ago, I was walking down a street in Nairobi, wearing a hat. And a man told me that I should take my hat off or kids would steal it. I told him I'd take my chances, but I wanted to wear it for protection from the sun, and he responded by calling me a racist. I still think he was wrong, since I'd have reacted the same way if a white man (or white woman) had made the same suggestion. He would be astonished if I had called him an agist for attributing thievery entirely to "kids."
I've spent a fair amount of time in places where my appearance immediately marks me as not being local. My experience is that people usually sincerely want to know what it is like being from somewhere else, but their assumptions about rich Westerners can get in the way. You can get past that with some effort. But it takes time and effort.
In just about a week, I'll be in a traditional village in another country, where I'll be expected to do my best to conform to the local culture. Honesty compels me to admit that I'm not sure how I'll like that. It's just for a couple of weeks. Will I come back with relief or regrets? All I can do is admit my own biases and try my best not to feel some sense of superiority to people who live in what we'd call primitive conditions.
Copyright 2007 Miriam H. Nadel