It is a well written and thoughtful article, full of truths that need to be spoken. Ah, there’s the rub.
“There are some white folks who don’t feel their views on certain issues are welcome in the conversation.”
And critics believe – ironically – that the mayor’s reaction to the story validates that point.
Bingo............
The article longish, but well worth the read for those who want to see want the fuss is all about. It's entitled, Being White in Philly. I think some of the hysteria is caused by thoughts expressed in the comment section (which the mag has not shut down and which includes over 4000 comments at this time). One commenter whose mother sent him to a mostly black school narrated what total Hell life was there, and boy, the conversation got, ahem, "lively"!! It's worth reading now, because they will likely close the comments section at some point. It's there that you get "the rest of the story."
white kid in black gradeschool • 15 days ago −"Jen" BTW is the white woman whose model of "reaching out" we're supposed to follow.
As I white kid whose well-meaning parents enrolled him in a majority black school for the same noble reasons as "Jen", I just have to say that that decision is really negligent. I love how she makes it about herself. I love my parents dearly and have never told them about how lonely and terrifying it was to be one of the only white kids in my grade school. I love them too much to put that kind of guilt on them. I was constantly teased, picked on, and bullied by a few kids... and even the nicer kids never seemed to display any sort of empathy. Given the state of race relations in this country, and the overt disdain black people have for whites, I don't suppose I see how that would be surprising. Whites only think racism goes one way... they have no idea what its like for those of us in the trenches. Especially kids. 2054 15 •Reply•Share ›