Personally Blogging, by Davis

I am curious about the state of race relations in my own mind. - For those of you in tier 2, we tier folks had a discussion on racial relations and just visited Moore's Ford. So race, specifically racism, has been a prominent topic of discussion recently. - Katie brought up a good reference in our discussion Thursday night: "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist" from Avenue Q. (for lyrics go to - http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/avenueq/everyonesalittlebitracist.htm). This song speaks on the little bit of racism that exists in all of us, and as Vialla told us about her experience about having to deal with the racism cultivated in her during her youth, I catch myself wondering what parts of me are racist.

I was raised in the South, and have some racist friends and some racist family. My mother and father did their best to stop it from actually taking any form of a strong hold on me, and I think they actually did a very good job. But I am still am sure that I am racist in some ways. I laugh at the occasional race joke, but then again I laugh at the religious jokes that make fun of my religion. So, I guess I find offensive things somewhat funny, and I may be wrong in this sentiment, but I find them comments with the most truth behind them tend to be the most offensive. If something is true, shouldn't we want to talk about it? Maybe that is idealistic.

For example, the lady who spoke to us during the Moore's Ford Trip, Penny - daughter of the wife of Roger Malcom who was murdered, spoke with a deep accent that made her sound incredibly uneducated. It was actually a somewhat humorous accent. But I have learned much from her and her story. She has sparked thoughts that I would never have had before. Now her accent is still incredible, but it is not a reflection of her inherent worth. It is simply an observation. It is a racist observation? Is it a racist observation if I comment that there are many other African Americans, especially where I grew up, who speak with similar accents to hers?

Part of the reason that I think it is so hard to have dialogues confronting racism is that the boundary line between what is racist and what is simply observation is thin enough that observations and comments can be misconstrued as judgmental. Also, the comment may be judgmental rather than objective. Where is the line? Where/when/how do we talk? Why is it so hard to confront truth? Why would we rather stay silent and lazy and play pong or go to the pool or watch a movie than have discussions that actually bring about personal and communal development? Because it's easier. and more convenient. and we wont feel uncomfortable.

well. I hope you enjoyed my rant. If you ever believe that my blogs are a slight bit too personal, please let me know. But I figure, what the hell? It's why I signed up for this program.

oh and the URL for the International Rescue Committee is www.theirc.org Enjoy!!