AOTL Series On Race - Part V

The Racist Good Friend

I was once driving with a good friend of mine who tends to tell stories so finely detailed with minutiae any normal mind will wander while she is talking. I have no recollection of how this particular story began. I only remember mentally recoiling when she got to the point of her story which was “and I was the only white girl there, no offense.”

For the sake of clarity she was talking about being outnumbered by black people. When she said it, the subtext dictated by her tone was not “it was a positive, cultural, eye-opening experience for me. I can’t wait to go back, no offense.” There was trepidation in her voice that would suggest “I felt totally vulnerable and threatened being around so many black people, no offense.”

What is sad is I have heard stories like this reported by white friends (no, not you) who have found themselves “stranded” in seas of blackness on occasion. From Harlem to Compton, I’ve had white friends end up “on the wrong side of town” and the story always turns out the same; nothing happened.

Where is the bias, you may be wondering. This reflects an enduring myth that there is an epidemic of black people preying on lost white people. I admit the Reginald Denny attack in 1992 was sickening, and there are some areas of any city that would not be my first choice to visit. While visiting Northern Idaho earlier this year I kept in the back of my mind that region’s recent history with white supremacist groups. A sense of caution is good to have, but simply being around a lot of black people is not a cause for panic and by the by, it does not make for an entertaining story.

The sale job on black inferiority in America is hundreds of years old. Applying false values to Africans is what allowed people who otherwise thought themselves enlightened, like Thomas Jefferson, to tolerate and even support the institution of slavery. I won’t recite all the myths, but I will refer you to Atticus Finch’s summation to the jury in the film “To Kill A Mockingbird” here http://www.americanrhetoric.com/MovieSpeeches/moviespeechtokillamockingbird.html

Atticus touches on a few of these myths that endure in spite of evidence to the contrary.

I never confronted any of my storytelling friends because accusations of racism just make people defensive. I would have had to deal with “How can I be a racist? You’re one of my closest friends” and the bit of guilt I would have felt would have killed my debate libido.

But the issue stands; if this is how my friends feel, sheesh, what hope is there? Well, as enduring as these myths are, people’s submission to them is fluid. Whereas the idea of a black U.S. president would have been a dream not too long ago, enough people surrendered enough of their prejudice to elect a black U.S. president in 2008. Since then, a growing number of people believe he is lying about his religion (insert muted trombone mwah mwahhhhhhhh here).

Giving cause for more hope though is the fact that each successive generation rejects a little more of the bullshit from the generation preceding it. One day they’re buying race music and the next they’re voting for black presidents. Next thing you tell me they’ll lose their fear of a black majority! Oh no! Now that’s the story I want to hear!

And Northern Idaho was beautiful.