Posted on 01/19/2022 9:48:51 AM PST by hiho hiho
I just got word of the death of Arnold, a (black) high school classmate of many decades ago. For some reason, my memories of him also brings up memories of another black classmate, Bryant.
Arnold had a huge personality that found pleasure and humor no matter the circumstances. He was the type of person that would approach a stranger, struck up a conversation and walk away with an instant friend. I was shocked that he remembered a conversation we had many, many decades ago. Life was hard on him, in a recent photo, he looked decades older than his age.
He was obviously came from a family with few financial means. He was born, lived and died in the inner city. I don't think college was ever an option for him. He spent his life working jobs that were not high paying, but in which he found great pleasure. In later years he worked for charities in his community helping the poor and elderly.
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On the other hand, Bryant was highly intelligent and could be quite engaging. But, there was a good bit of arrogance that is sometimes associated with the gifted. Bryant grew up in a family with means. He went on to college and obtained a law degree, specializing in civil rights litigation. He lives in a wealthy, exclusive enclave over an hours drive from Arnold's community. His wife is also a high-paid professional. Bryant hit life's jackpot. Despite his success, he is a very angry person who sees "white privilege" and prejudice everywhere. He is a nasty political partisan.
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Lord -- help me to be more like Arnold!
Liberals are always ANGRY.
ANGRY THAT SOMEONE SOMEWHERE IS HAVING A BETTER LIFE THAT SOMEONE ELSE BECAUSE OF THEIR POOR CHOICES IN LIFE.................
Not much of a tale. Needs more cowbell.
I'm glad it was short. I got the point. Doesn't need more words
It’s seemingly easy to convince people they’re a victim. They can be successful but have a very shallow view of life. The temptation to ‘virtue signal on behalf of others’ is also an arrogant narcissistic trait liberals have.
Thank you for your memories of Arnold.
Thought it was a great and timely story. It relates the human condition in an effective way.
RIP your friend Arnold. I would’ve liked to have known him. Not so much Bryant.
It’s seemingly easy to convince people they’re a victim. They can be successful but have a very shallow view of life. The temptation to ‘virtue signal on behalf of others’ is also an arrogant narcissistic trait liberals have.
***Hmmmm, reminds me of my own story of the first black family to move into our neighborhood when I was a kid. Upper middle class neighborhood in Belmont, CA on the street running into San Carlos, CA.
The family that moved in was a famous baseball player, outfielder for the San Francisco Giants. Naturally, all of us boys wanted to be professional baseball players when we grew up.
I thought sumthin was wrong with me because I didn’t like the son of the famous ball player. He was arrogant. He was an a-hole. My parents told me that I couldn’t say that about them because... well, you just couldn’t. My oldest sister used to babysit for the kid and she called him “the brat”. She was allowed to criticize them because she was a grown teenager but not me, somehow my parents felt that because I was smaller they could browbeat the thought in me that this other family could do no wrong because they were black and famous. It was bullshiite.
Anyways, the kid grows up and, wouldn’t ya know it, he became a famous baseball player himself. He even convinced himself that he was bein’ victimized as a black person because everyone just loved Mark McGwyre when HE broke the single season homerun record. In fact, he was the most famous baseball player of the 1990s and his homerun records remain to this day, the most home runs ever hit... ever... along with the most home runs in a single year. But of course, that was because he was juicin’ — and of course, so was McGwyre.
Yes, that kid. That kid was Barry Bonds. So now all of ya know that there wasn’t sumthin wrong with me that I thought [along with my sister] that Barry was a jerk because everyone knows who he is. But if the kid had never grown up to be a famous jerkwad, people would still be thinking that I was somehow prejudiced against black people.
Black people can be jerks. White people can be jerks. It’s not restricted to any race.
So, how does my story about a single black kid — rather than 2 black kids — measure up?
Sounds like Bryant’s sin is envy. He probably is thinking, if he were white he would be even more successful. Perhaps a senator or governor, or even president.
Not enough emphasis is placed on the sin of envy.
Your story was fine, as was the original poster's story. However, your zeal to turn it into a pissing match seems to be an attempt to hide feelings of inadequacy.
Nahhh. The kid was just an a-hole, that’s all.
Pissing match? That doesn’t gybe. Oh well, I have no need of your affirmation on this stuff, so TTFN.
Bryant had a malevolent sense of life and also a malevolent universe attitude
Well, it’s an interesting story at least :)
I can imagine that criticism would be out-of-bounds, the first black family and all...
I’ve noticed throughout my working career, as I’ve advanced and been promoted, that certain individuals weren’t cool - in that a-hole arrogant sort of way. Each time I wondered if I was just misinterpreting them - maybe at this higher level it just comes with the territory.
...only to find out, almost every time, they didn’t last much longer at the company. Either they were fired or left, then hearing what other people had to say which was inline with my own opinion.
I suppose a lot of things go unsaid.
I agree with you, but the cowbell statement made me chortle.
We were in the left field stands at old Busch Stadium the day Big Mac hit #23 against the Giants on his way to the record. (It landed about 5 rows in front of us!)
Bonds was playing LF that day, and looked like he was going to throw one of the between-innings practice balls to some St. Louis kids in the stands.
He moved his arm back and made the motion, but didn’t let go of the ball. Then he smiled. Jerk is correct.
His dad, and Willie Mays and Willie McCovey did not charge us for autographs. But I heard he charged kids $5.
There’s all kinds of stories about him.
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