A personal anecdote

[gallantwarrior]

My daughter very proudly relayed this story to me:
My youngest granddaughter (8 yrs old) has been going on about her best friend in school. Naomi this, Naomi that...Naomi is does so many neat things, knows so much, is just so nice. My daughter had no idea that Naomi was black until she showed up (with her 14-yr-old brother as escort) for my granddaughter's birthday party. The point here is, at no point did my granddaughter feel the necessity to express Naomi's race.
An additional aspect: the 14-yr-old brother was very obviously uncomfortable at the party. Hell, what decent, self-respecting teen-aged boy would feel comfortable at a party for 8-10 year old girls! But my daughter welcomed him, included him in the laser-tag game, and he had a great time. My daughter was glad to have at least one person her size as an opponent (he became the team leader for the "opposing" team).
When these children's mother picked them up, she and my daughter engaged in a conversation. At first, my daughter was cautious, as one must be these days. After a very short conversation, these two women discovered they had many things in common. Now, my daughter has a new friend and they visit back and forth frequently.
The point here is, you can be color-blind. You can respect others and cherish who they are without bitterness and vitriol.
I am proud of my daughter. I am foolish enough to be pleased that I must have done something right to have raised such a magnificent person. And now she is raising two very sweet, wonderful little girls. I wish I could protect them from all that is nasty and hateful. Alas, I cannot.

 

[old navy]

Thank you for that post gallantwarrior. I teach in the most diverse high school in my district and I have written on the usmb more than once that the only time I hear about racism is on this website. My 175 students, which are 90 percent non-white, have grown up with each other and it is very humbling and rewarding to watch them interact with very little controversy.

The people on here that see mean old confederates in every cloud and piece of toast or a thug in every hoodie should visit my classroom some day and get a lesson on how to deal with others. It sounds like you did raise a great daughter who in turn is bringing up two fine young ladies of her own.

 

[Sallow]

That's a great story. Shows a good amount of hope too that race will be less of an issue moving forward.

 

[Big Black Dog]

I grew up in southeastern Virginia in a very rural area. As a 14 year old boy, my closest neighbor, and another boy to hang out with was black. His name was LeRoy. We were pals over the years until his family moved to Richmond. We did all the stuff young guys did back then and were often in trouble with both his mother and my mother. Blacks are like everybody else - just have a different kind of paint job.

 

[California Girl]

I grew up in southeastern Virginia in a very rural area. As a 14 year old boy, my closest neighbor, and another boy to hang out with was black. His name was LeRoy. We were pals over the years until his family moved to Richmond. We did all the stuff young guys did back then and were often in trouble with both his mother and my mother. Blacks are like everybody else - just have a different kind of paint job.

Yep. My best friends growing up were Michelle (black), Rosie (Latino), Tag (white). Four of us were always hanging out.... I was bridesmaid when Michelle got married, along with Rosie and Tag. Michelle, Rosie and I were bridesmaid when Tag got married. Rosie's gay, and she and her partner came to visit me in the UK. Moral of this story.... people are people, friends are friends... nothing else is important.

 

[gallantwarrior]

I've always tried to provide a variety of experiences for my daughter. We moved to Europe when she was just about 5. Instead of putting he into the care of some military day care provider, I enrolled her in a German kindergarten. There were kids from all over Europe in that school, all nationalities and cultures. She learned to speak German, as did the others.
I get a lot of flack from my sister, whose 3 daughters all have degrees. My daughter decided to take what life dished out in stride and became a full-time mother. She sometimes regrets not getting an education, to please me mostly. My thought is, if you're going to be a Mom, be the best Mom you can be. Now that her girls are both in school, she's enrolled in a course of study that she finds interesting.
I kind of like my daughter for the wonderful person she is.