Same Noose;New Millinium

I heard about this story a few weeks ago. And its sad that something like this is just picking up steam, while that stupid chick Paris gets front page coverage from every rag-pretending-to-be-newspaper in this country. But I will go ahead and say what many of us (except those who prefer to wear rose-colored glasses and keep there proverbial heads in the sand) already know, racism is a pervasive evil that has not gone away but changed forms and in far to many places remains exactly the same (minus the plantation).

This story reminded me that I often find myself asking myself--do I wear a racial chip on my shoulder> Many things to me have both ethnic and racial connotations, and as much as I try not to look at everything through that lens, when you where my color (not so much my ethnicity unless I tell you) its hard not to take note of the differences I notice. Some, with the rosy glasses, and some who may not be as over-analytical as I tend to be, might say its racial paranoia. Others might just nod there head because they to have taken notice and though these actions are not deplorable--they are definetly, in my opinion racially motivated.

For example, when ever I board the train in the morning, if I have a seat to my self--with two open seats, I have noticed that people will cram themselves in the handicapped seat or somewhere eles uncomfortable. Although it is a good thing to have the seat to yourself--its sort of like being the last one picked on the kickball team in elementary school.

Or how about boarding an elevator. I don't know how many times a man has stood to the side to let the women on first and then straight stepped in front of me like I am invisible.

Or the fact that some of my favorite majority membered co-workers look for empathy from me about some of the dumb assumptions they make about people of the coloured persuassion as in "you are a perfectly reasonable black woman, don't you think all black men have a chip on there shoulder?" Huh, what? Why me?

But these things are more pervasive straight ignorance and to some degree probably based in some horrible interaction that went arwy. I don't think they are purposely done. In most cases, I think its not even conscious.

But, honey, hanging a noose from a tree in the South, where the history of Jim Crow is not too far gone and the racial tensions in many Southern towns are couched under the guise of knowing your roll and the practice of good Southern hospitality, is clearly a conscious decision to which was meant to extend harm.

That Strange Fruit never dissappears does it?

These are just little things. But definetely noticeable things.

But I digress, it is a shame that racism is still so blatant in some places. Particularly in the South. When are they going to get over the fact that they lost the damn war for goodness sake!