HOW THE WORLD HAS CHANGED

[gerald]

HOW THE WORLD HAS CHANGED

I used to think I was just a regular person, but I was born white,
which now, whether I like it or not, makes me a racist.

I am a fiscal and moral conservative, which by today's standards, makes me a fascist.

I am heterosexual, which now makes me a homophobe.

I am mostly non-union, which makes me a traitor to the working class
and an ally of big business.

I was christened by my parents, which now labels me as an infidel.

I am retired, which makes me useless.

I think and I reason, therefore I doubt much that the main stream media tells me,
which must make me a reactionary.

I am proud of my heritage, which makes me a xenophobe.

I value my safety and that of my family and I appreciate the police and the legal system,
which makes me a right-wing extremist.

I believe in hard work, fair play, and fair compensation according to each individual's merits,
which today makes me an anti-socialist.

I (and most of the folks I know), acquired a fair education without student loan debts and
little or no debt, which makes me some kind of an odd underachiever.

I believe in the defence and protection of my country and I honour those who served in the Armed Forces,
which now makes me a right wing-militant.

Please help me come to terms with the new me... because I'm just not sure who the hell I am anymore!

Funny ...it’s all just taken place over the last 7 or 8 years!

As if all this nonsense wasn’t enough to deal with ... now I’m not even sure which toilet to go into!

[lavishgail]

Gerald.

[gnott]

Spot on. 
What really annoys me, is all the support we gave to CORE and the NAACP back in the Fifties, early Sixties has been completely swept away. Not that any of it was done for aggrandizement - but to be totally dismissed and now considered the enemy is a tad upsetting.
And it gets worse. [Guess I am becoming that old guy yelling off his porch. Grin]

Had my own son ask me a few years ago "Why did you hate colored people back then, and call them negros?"
What?
Tried to explain the real situation and casually browsed the history ... NOTHING. Plenty of white people holding hate signs. You have to seriously dig to find any mention of CORE and the various campaigns in Non-southern colleges and even High Schools against segregation and Jim Crow Laws; and the money we raised. Or the support we gave to Southern Republicans (the only ones in the south working to end anything). 
So I could understand. I never thought it would be necessary to set aside time to tell my son about his own heritage.

The bulk of my family on my father's side were all German Lutheran or Mennonites farmers in Northeast Indiana / Northwest Ohio.  They were active participates in the Underground Railroad. We had sixteen people serve the the Union Army, eight of which never came back (some killed, some just never came back, grin). Had a distant cousin who was for awhile an Officer over the Negro unit in WWII. Eavesdropped on many kitchen conversations of the lengths he went to insure "His Men" got equal treatment.

(My family has a very military tradition, and considering my mother was a Creek - I've always like to brag "We have always had someone in every war our country fought, and often on both sides. )


All the time I was growing up neither my parents or teachers ever said a single unkind word against Negros. We were punished if we ever used the "N-Word" within another adults hearing.

Look at me there I go again. Open my mouth and 10 words fall out when one would do.

Anyway I am nothing special. Neither is my family. That is just the way it was.
And it pisses me off my son had to defend HIS HERITAGE. My grand-kids are now going through the same crap. Yes I am annoyed.

OH, and PS: we are NOT called "Reactionary" any more - that takes more education that most "liberals" have these days - we are simply "Deniers"!

[skate4life]

These are the best posts I have read in along time......so much is true for me. Gnott brought me back to my own childhood in New Jersey. Mother heritage English and German but totally non prejudice, while father 100% German and very prejudice especially using the "N" word. There was a soft spoken black American that worked for my father (washing cars in an auto dealer repair shop) that was always so kind to me. He bartended on the side and I insisted he help at home for my confirmation party (all adults) but Dad said absolutely not....but when I saw him "Brownie" in the kitchen when I came home, I ran to him to hug him but out of the corner of my eye I saw my father give me that 'look' that said 'don't you dare...' Dad spoke openly at home about the various groups like Italian and Black Americans. Mother never said a word. But she was active with American Legion, Eastern Star, Methodist church, catholic orphanage.....In the 50's our town was segregated not only by race but by religion and everyone stayed in their own part of town. It left me very confused. But my own soul spoke to a lot of what Gerald's post said even from my early years. Sadly, I never participated in any of the things Gnott talked about - all I could do was be respectful to all people and in my profession. I have tried never to judge because I feel I have not walked in their shoes. Another tidbit - I worked 3 years in a small all white community hospital and I was so shocked at the breath and depth of prejudice against people that they never encountered. Many had never even been to a larger town only 15 miles away, read a newspaper or watched news on TV. They were so isolated! My point being that all the ideals of small town living is not always healthy.

I really worry about the loss of morals and ethics in recent years. As was said frequently these past few days, the death of Senator McCain is the end of an era. I do not have hope for a better world in my lifetime. Life now moves soooo fast with the explosion of IT and social media that the human soul no longer takes the time to think, discuss, ponder.... all this IMHO and free wheeling brain.

[John]

thank you Gerald for your great post Excellent replies by all of you thank you so much 🌹