I can remember Great Grandpa saying "Never trust a Lawyer, Ni#$@r, or a Free-will Baptist"... That's word for word and I think I heard him say it a hundred times over the years. Grandpa never went past 2nd grade, but I believe he was probably the smartest man I ever knew. And not because of that saying he had, he was genuinely very highly intelligent.
All those years while living in a 100% white area, I silently thought to myself what a backwards and foolish thing for such a wise man to say. Then, I went to college. It was there that the meaning of his words came to light as I was exposed to the real world of diversity.
Having since moved out of the foothills of Kentucky and settled in Indiana, I now fully understand what he meant when he would say that. Although, I still don't really know what a Free Will Baptist is or why he hated them with such passion.
our grandparents and parents had it right....and I had parents who would give a stranger the shirt off their back if they needed it....loving and caring...but smart to know which way is up....my father grew up in a dysfunctional family in Philly and spent a lot of time so he KNEW what life was all about....
you've clearly missed the FR Calvin / Arminian flame wars of the late 90's.......trust me - your gramps was a bright bright man
*** Then, I went to college. It was there that the meaning of his words came to light as I was exposed to the real world of diversity. ***
I had a friend move here from Louisiana. When we talked racial things he always pointed out that he lived among blacks and found them to be no different than anyone else.
After several years here, and getting married to a local girl, he took her back to Louisiana on a vacation. When he came back he was a changed man and his wife NEVER wanted to visit it again!
He said,, “Man, THEY really are different!”
Back in my military years (1966-1969) we had two yankee men in our barracks who had no bad feelings about blacks.
One of the real southern men said...”You will hate them before you get out of the military, because the BLACKS will teach you to hate them!”
Within one year both of these men developed anti-black attitudes that made the southern boys look like angels. We never found out what happened to make the change in them.