… so I have been living in Northeast Louisiana for 37 days.
You can just call me the Big Jew in the Bayou.
I had little trepidation about coming here. I was offered a
pretty good job, and after being out of full-time work for 11 months, I needed
something to go to, something to make me feel productive.
About 10 years ago, I was offered a chance to work for The
Associated Press primarily as a sportswriter in Jackson, Miss. Looking back, I
should have jumped on it, but didn’t – a family-fueled decision. My father, a
New York City native, underwent basic training in the Army during World War II
at Fort Campbell on the Kentucky-Tennessee border. While he didn’t come right
out and say that he subject to racism, he did everything but utter that.
Since I have been in the Deep South, nothing has happened or
been said to me that remotely smacks of racism. If anything, just the opposite
has occurred. People from the cashiers at Wal-Mart and Target to school
administrators have bent over backwards to be friendly.
There have been two things, though, that have me doing the
facepalm and that would probably have people from outside the region shaking
their heads. I want to make it clear
that neither of these incidents happened where I live.
Several weeks ago, I drove to Baton Rouge to hit the Apple
store. Could have easily had anything I needed shipped to me, but I cannot
resist the need to get in the car and just go now and then.
Since there is no real direct route to get to I-10 from
where I am, state roads and US routes were the way to go to the Gulf Coast.
Driving east on one of these roads, I looked at houses that had the Confederate
flag – good ol’ Stars and Bars – hanging from poles.
Ooooooooooookay. While hardly an expert on the Civil War,
here is what I know – it’s been over for nearly 150 years. There is no
cease-fire. REALLY highly doubtful that it’s going to start up again.
Just seeing those flags made me a little uncomfortable.
Since I am not black, I cannot imagine what it’s like for a person of color to face
that, but I imagine anger is an emotion that’s right up there.
Meanwhile, in
Alabama, a news website thought this was – what were we going for here? Clever?
Funny? A light-hearted tweak? That’s right, blackface and the dumb-ass ignorant
thinking lives in 2012.
Needless to say, there has been the proper outrage and
disgust over this and the site issued this statement: “This photo
has been removed because of its inappropriate nature. The AL.com staff
apologizes for any offense it may have caused, and we thank our readers who
took the time to voice their concerns.”
May have? Lukewarm
at best.
Keep this in mind – a decision was reached by at least one
person to post this, that somehow it was OK in this day and age. Of course this
is the same day and age that’s given us
this
and
this.
Talking about diversity is one thing. Accepting it is
another. Seems there are a number of people in my industry that don’t.
