“I bet she don’t have a whole lot of white ‘friends’...............”
My first taste of racism happened in Pittsburgh in the early 70’s. We had a party and invited people from work. One black chick looked me straight in the eyes and said she may have had to work with us, but she hated white people and certainly wouldn’t hang out with any.
There is a thin patina of civility that masquerades as friendship covering a vessel full of flammable fuel of hatred that just needs a spark to ignite....................
My first taste of racial bias came in college in the early 80s. My roommate was black and we were thick as thieves. We were great friends and he would come home with me over school breaks. Most of our teammates and friends were black. Our upbringings and tastes in music were quite different but that mattered little. The problem came with the winter formal sponsored by the BSA. Neither of us even stopped to ponder that BSA stood for Black Student Association until we got there with our dates. I was not allowed in as I was not black. My girlfriend’s family fled Iran prior to the fall of the Shah. She lit into them declaring that she was Persian and not at all black. A genius at the door told her that Egypt was part of Africa so she was fine and should come in without me. I asked to be judged on the content of my character and was told inno uncertain terms that I was a white boy. I really wanted no trouble. The four of us left and spent the rest of the evening at a Perkins. They then told me that the BSA goon had the hots for my girlfriend. She had earlieer rebuffed him and I just gave the benefit of the doubt that he was a jerk rather than a racist.