I'll grant that question as soon as every Catholic leaves their parish because priests are molesting altar boys.
I just think most of white America assumes it knows what it's like to be a black man, and most of us haven't a clue.
I was in a jewelry store once with my young son. We were the only customers and we had to be buzzed in. As we talked with the woman shop owner, a young black man pulled up in front of the store and got out of his Mercedes 450sl. He was dressed in wool slacks and a cashmere sweater, about 25 and very handsome. He buzzed to enter the store.
The shop owner looked panicked, and then said to him through the open grill of the door -- "I'm sorry. I can't let you in. I was held up last week and I'm just not going to do it."
As long as I live I will never forget the look on that young man's face. At first, he appeared stunned. Then hurt and humiliated. Then angry. He started to protest and said he just wanted to buy a gift for his wife.
The woman wouldn't budge.
The young man stood there and looked at me and my son, his eyes filled with pain and disbelief and fury. Finally, he turned, got in his care and drove away.
The woman quickly excused her actions. "I'm sorry, but I was afraid for all of us."
My son tugged on my sleeve.
"Do you know who that was?"
It was the newest member of the town's pro basketball team. He had just signed a multi-million dollar contract, and no doubt he had wanted to spend some of it.
Black men can escape the poverty, the projects, the slums, the fatherless homes, the grinding ignorance, the hopelessness. But they can't escape the color of their skin.
That same speech by Shylock works for black men.
[[I’ll grant that question as soon as every Catholic leaves their parish because priests are molesting altar boys.]]
99% of parishes do no such thing, the other 1% I’m sure many many folksd did leave.
[[I just think most of white America assumes it knows what it’s like to be a black man, and most of us haven’t a clue.]]
I think most of black America doesn’t know what it’;s like beign held hostage for the ills of hte past, and having it thrown in our face over and over again, used, exploited for politcal gain etc.
swell story- now change the color of the actors- have the hwite person in a majority black neighboirhood-
Racism happens on all sides of hte aisle, not just white on black- annectdotal stories liek htis do nothign to defend hate speech by reverends, regardless of color. Is the white on black racism dissproportionate to blakc on white? Sure, of course it is, but the ignronace of some should NOT condemn the majority of those of us who denounce racism, nor should the ignorance of some be constantly held against the majority of Americans regardless of hteir color such as Obama would have us do despite his thinly veiled rhettoric falsely denouncing such issues.
Sh!t, there ain't a white man in this room that would change places with me.
None of you would change places with me. And I'm rich!
That's how good it is to be white.
There's a white, one-legged busboy in here right now...
that won't change places with my black ass.
He's going, "No, man, I don't wanna switch. I wanna ride this white thing out... See where it takes me."