Blacks. Whites. People.
First, give me a moment to grill The Lone Sysadmin on the disposition of the picture he took of The Amazing 100th Anniversary Zulu Coconut and my grinning mug. Ahem, how do you expect this legend to prosper, especially on the internet, without proper photographic evidence?
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Friends R and S flew down from Wisconsin to spend Lundi Gras, Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday with us. R is an informed, opinionated and extremely vocal radio DJ who also happens to be about 6.5 feet tall and a former football player, so doesn’t get much nonsense from most anyone. On Mardi Gras Day, we woke up early, dressed in our costumes and walked down to our gigantic oak on St. Charles, from the large, gnarly roots of which we watch the parades each year. While enjoying Zulu and trying as much as possible to be out of the way of the avid, jam-packed crowd, R was wedged into a spot off which he would’ve fallen had he moved. So, when a young black woman kept asking him to step aside every few minutes, he quickly tired of it. Repeated attempts at asking her to take another route (there was a small, more stable opening about five people down) were met with laughter or derision. “This is public property, not yours.” Eventually, she moved on.
Once R’s “parade nemesis” (and we all have one … or three) took off, an older white woman who stood behind us for most of the parades quickly hobbled up to R and said, “You know, ever since one of them got in the White House, they think they run the place. They have no respect. They’re like animals.”
The bitter hag had already discovered R is loud and not afraid to tell people off, but what she didn’t expect was that the man is the liberal to end all liberals. “Maaaaa’am,” he yelled at her. ”I voted for him. I resent your attitude and want you to get away from me!” With that, he turned away from her in disgust and took a long swig from his can. Eyewitness reports indicate that the woman subsequently looked like she’d been hit between the eyes with a large bag of beads.
Not surprisingly, D and I were infuriated on hearing the whole story. D wanted to know why black-hating assholes come to the Zulu parade in the first place. I immediately applied it to one of the main problems with New Orleans which hinders its recovery. Abject distrust of a group of people based on their race. It’s a self-fulfilling thing – thinking the other party has it in for you eventually leads to the other party having it in for you. Look at what happens at City Hall almost everyday and ask yourself why this even has to be. And, beyond this city, everywhere across the globe, the wholesale write-off of people based on religion, socio-economic status, sect and, again, race: ”Oh, those Muslims, they are all evil and you can’t even trust the ones with advanced degrees and nice houses. They’re sleeper cells waiting for the right moment.” ”Oh, those Hindus with their idols and backwards, pagan ways. Never move into a Hindu house because it reeks of their spice and you won’t get that smell off you.” “Oh, that caste cannot be trusted. We are superior in all respects.” “Oh, those people live in a condo, can’t afford a whole house, and drive a second-hand car.” “Oh, we saw a beater in our neighborhood and thought the owner was black. We have to protect our area, you know.” “Oh, Whitey can only do harm and there is no way we will vote for this person because she is white and how could she know and care about our community?” I’ve heard it all. How people believe the unrealistic and pass the garbage on. It’s disgusting and smacks of ignorance and insecurity.
A friend asked if it’s human nature, part of our innate is-ness, rooted in our very being. In that case, so is not rape, murder, theft and all that we deem immoral and illegal as whole societies? Our biological tendency for certain actions is a cop-out. How we rise above that inclination and consciously make decisions to consider our actions and thoughts before enacting them is the hallmark of human progress. We can be better humans and not retreat to our mental caves. Once I found out later that that old witch was the one who had said something so horrendous, I was livid at having helped her down from the tree and onto the street after the parade passed. Yet, I calmed myself down with the thought that no matter how bigoted a person is, you don’t show your contempt by letting an elderly person trip and fall. Yes, we all want to call out or avenge in a stupid way for a perceived wrong. Perhaps that is the primitive aspect of our collective DNA sounding the alarm. But, being a modern human is the ability to keep that knee-jerk, fight-or-flight reaction in check.
Like D who, when once purchasing a bottle of Thunderbird, was whispered at by the store clerk, “You know, this is that black people’s wine.” What came to D’s mind was, “Why yes, ma’am, I know because I’m black.” But, he didn’t because the point would not have been well-taken. You simply have to will yourself to break free from the Utter Crap level of discourse. Or the cycle of idiocy will never end, important things will not be done and human progress will not be made.
