Every once on a while I have to make a few comments on racism so that I'm thinking about the issue.
President Trump made it easy to comment on the topic with his recent comments.
My father was a racist. He was not a man full of hatred for others. He was just ignorant. He was a dummy when it came to racism. He used the n word. He fully used all the Jewish stereotypes. As a result he gave me a good education in racism. He thought white people were at the top on the totem pole. He was most surprised when he met some one who didn't fit this stereotype of what they should be. To him Chinese should run restaurants and do laundry. They should also talk funny and he imitated them. To repeat, my Dad was just ignorant of things. Because I grew up with him I had all of his prejudice.
All the people in our small rural district were the same. They strengthened each other's prejudice.
So in 1957 I finished high school and set out into the big world. I think most people were the same at that time.
I drifted into teaching aboriginal people with my prejudices firmly attached. We were given some information about different people in our one week orientation but most of the prejudice stayed with me.
The big bomb shell hit when I went to someone's house and knocked on the door. I could hear them talking inside and they said it was a white man at the door. It struck me like a knife. I'll never forget that instant. I have gradually changed from then on. For two whole years I was called the white man (kabloona). I didn't mind that term. I became used to it.
Now I'm very picky about what people say. I don't like to hear people joking about issues.
It has to go much further than chat. We have to be able to live and work on a daily basis with other races.
Where I live there are many racists and white supremacists. Much work needs to be done by society to teach us what racism is and in that way just maybe racism will be come a bit less.
