A personal story about racism

[cali]

Not infrequently, ex-husband has made some horribly racist jokes. He grew up in a very white, rural, poor area- although his dad was a doctor, and he grew up in relative affluence. His dad was the son of poor Irish Immigrants and definitely had some racist tendencies. His mother, one of the finest people I ever met, grew up on a hardscrabble farm and didn't have a racist bone in her body. My ex was educated at good schools; has a MA from Georgetown, is well read, musical and yet.... there's still a lot of the good old boy, motorcycle riding, guns type of rural "thinking" in him.

Is he a racist? Yes, I'd have to say that he is. And yet.... he's not simply some monster. Like most people he's complex, good threaded in with the not so good. He's a republican/libertarian. He voted for Obama in the primary and plans to vote for him in November. Why? He says he doesn't trust McCain to end the war and he doesn't trust him on the economy. As for Hillary, he's strongly opposed to the Bush/Clinton/Bush/Clinton thing.

[timtom]

1. Thank you for sharing.

This is a thoughtful and insightful post.

[O.M.B.inOhio]

2. An anecdote from Talk of the Nation

The caller said she was doing some in-home service (as a pastor, I think) for an old white man during the Dem primaries. They got to talking about one of the candidates. The man says, "Now who's that who is running, too?"
The caller says, "The black man is Senator Barack Obama from Illinois."
The old man says, "Well, HE'S the one I'M voting for."

Yup, humans are complex creatures!

[Kahuna]

3. Good story. I was just thinking before I read your post that....

a lot of so-called racists will vote for Obama because of the issues. Not all. But some.

[Window]

4. Interesting...thanks for sharing.

:thumbsup:

[mmonk]

5. Yes humans are complex.

Some have enough sense to put down negative tendencies they may have to vote on issues. My hats off to them because they are thinking voters.

[Undercurrent]

6. Thank you for sharing!

Yes, I've seen this in my own family too.

My ex husband is black, and my nephew is a racist. The two have never met, and my nephew would never speak of my ex, at least in my presence, but her sure had a lot to say with his general racist rants. So I was surprised the other day when his mom (my sister) called, and told me he was supporting Obama! She said it was because of the war, and because he didn't trust the Clintons.

I hope this means that more, and more people will see beyond the trap of racism, and answer to a higher call.

[marions ghost]

7. I've seen this contradiction

My white MIL is 80 and a sweeter person you'd go far to meet. She is so generous with her time and attention to her friends and family it fits the term "personal ministry." She has a special relationship with a wonderful young black woman in her 30's. They met while both were involved in hospital work. The young woman sent a card to my MIL on Mothers Day and calls her "my adopted Mom." It's a beautiful thing to see when they are together. There is no awkwardness or tension, just a mutual
fan club. My MIL thinks the world of her. And yet I know for a fact that my MIL reflects her upbringing in a society where "white is best" at times. It's not any sort of overt racism, it's just unconscious, ie. the odd assumption, that sort of thing. We at DU would see it as racism, but my MIL would be offended by the term and insist that she has no prejudice. :shrug:

How can people have close personal relationships with a black person, and then still not recognize (or be openly against) racism in all its forms? It's a strange contradiction.

All I can think is that my MIL must be a lot like Sen. Obama's grandmother, who he said loved him to death, but would avoid black men if she saw them on the street. Hopefully that kind of ingrained aversion is dying out.

[progressoid]

8. Was this before Bob Barr decided to run?