Something about bigotry

 

I never found it entertaining to watch Archie Bunker on the TV series, All in the Family. I found his antics disgusting and full of ignorance.

Later I watched some on re-runs. I liked the women who dealt with misogyny the best way they could. It reminded me of how my mother taught me as a young teen to pretend different things, to manipulate men/boys and other women even, to get what I wanted. Seriously, female manipulating of all kinds of situations...which might have come down from southern women. But it also came through generations of blacks figuring out how to survive with half truths in the south as well.

So truth telling and trust of others, no matter their differences, have been very important in my life.

Noon-time picking up my lunch the other day, I stopped to click a few of the flowers. They are a bit washed out.

There were several vans from various camps who brought lots of young people to enjoy the pool at least.

Now, however, as I type this, the thunderstorm of the afternoon approaches, so I'm saying goodbye for now. Must honor the gods and goddesses of thunder and lightening vs. my poor electrical connections.

Today's quote:

Racism tends to attract attention when it's flagrant and filled with invective. But like all bigotry, the most potent component of racism is frame-flipping -- positioning the bigot as the actual victim. So the gay do not simply want to marry; they want to convert our children into sin. The Jews do not merely want to be left in peace; they actually are plotting world take-over. And the blacks are not actually victims of American power, but beneficiaries of the war against hard-working whites. This is a respectable, more sensible bigotry, one that does not seek to name-call, preferring instead to change the subject and straw man. 

-Ta-Nehisi Coates, writer and journalist (b. 30 Sep 1975)

Another quote:

A man who takes away another man's freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. -Nelson Mandela, activist, South African president, Nobel laureate (18 Jul 1918-2013)

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Today's old photo:

My son, Tai stayed with this family in Jamaica as part of his Peace Corps dedication to helping others.