Shades of Stupid x 3

[Teresa]

Amy's Cakes has a white storefront, a small purple "Jesus Saves" sign in the right lower corner of the pane glass windows.  I bought eight cupcakes for the speech therapy office two doors down:  two vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting, two like them but with rainbow sprinkles, two chocolate with chocolate frosting, and two more chocolates with sprinkles.  I added two chocolate brownies for fun, one with and one without nuts.

 

Sheba, one of the gifted therapists who taught my five year old to speak, thanked me when I brought in the large white box of sweets.  She reached into the box with a long slender arm and said, "This made my day so much better -- I was having a really bad day.  A parent told me her child doesn't like dark-skinned people."

 

She trusted me to say this, to express her feelings, and she has the depth to express them in their truest form, as an open wound on the spine of everyone, self-esteem leaking down our backs, hard to really see without a mirror.

 

~~~

 

Lisa is trying to adopt a baby to add to two other adopted children at home -- a four year old girl from Guatamala and a six year old boy from Lebanon.  The agency called her last week to say a pregnant mother had chosen her to adopt her baby due in June, but when Lisa excitedly broke the news to her mother and siblings, they expressed concerns about her "family of many colors". 

 

"What does it eat, and how black is it?" her mother asked. 

 

"Mom, I'm not adopting a squirrel."

 

There were several tearful phone conversations, a few hang-ups and sleepless nights before Lisa called the adoption agency to say it would be unfair to put this little boy in a conflicted family situation.

 

The agency agreed.

 

~~~

 

My sister and I both have children who are half Hispanic.  When her oldest son was in elementary school he was mistreated by a teacher, called a "stupid Mexican".  The teacher didn't realize he'd heard her, was surprised when the boy's milk white mother glided into the classroom the following week for a firm discussion.

 

My nephew is now in his thirties, a physician in Dallas, a success by anyone's standards.  But when I brought up the school incident he quickly changed the subject.

 

There is never a complete recovery.

 

[Mike Handley]

It's better than it used to be, but there's still a long way to go.

[Javed Baloch]

Teresa, dare I say this is one of the best I have read from you. Fantastic, had to fav' it ... sorry, couldnt be helped. ;)

And I especially loved #2 of the lot. Great work!

[Teresa]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpiIWMWWVco

This is what Kermit has to say about all this.  Night guys.  Big hugs.

[Cita]

We gave the world the Bagel??????  I was going to write something thoughtful and sensitive but then I read Gita's comment and now all my exhausted, beer-fuddled (I only had one but on an empty stomach) brain can do is laugh!  But truly, what Angela said is excellent:  This is an important piece to write and read. 

[Stephen Torelli]

There's hardly a remedy but a thick skin. Don't let this stuff get you down though I know you don't. And maybe, just maybe addressing this is the cure.

[Angela]

This is an important piece to write and to read, but hard to comment on.  The stupidity and hurtfulness of idiots is without limit, but that has already been said.

[Gita]

Truly madly deeply, that is how I love you.

First of all, this parent told Sheba that her CHILD doesn't like dark-skinned people? Where the F**k  does her child get  his opinions if not from the parents? That mother's  job description includes teaching about tolerance and the value of other people.  Grrr.

Second, and I am really steamed here, is the attitude of the grandmother towards her adopted grandchildren. You didn't say what ethnicity the new baby comes from, but it sounds like the child doesn't match the other two.  It brings back memories of dating a white southern boy years back, and when he took me home to meet his parents, his mother had a sinking spell. She told him I was "dusky skinned" and our "babies would be tainted."   I had a summer tan that added to the olive-skinned Jewish look, and his parents could not WAIT will I was out their door.  I have never understood what some people have against Jews, considering the contributions we have made over the years to medicine and science and the arts. Plus, we gave the world the Bagel!! 
But seriously, I agree with Brittany that this is a disease that knows no end.  It doesn't help to use logic with somepeople or even to ask, WWJD?   Fave.

[Jenny]

As always, your heartfelt Sixes brim with emotion, passion and compassion. Sentence # 6 in the first x3 was killer.

[Toby Tucker Hecht]

I agree with Brittany that fear might be the driving force.  But what is the fear of, exactly?  Please write a story about the teacher, now living in Dallas, who must go to your nephew as a physician for a life-saving treatment.  If you don't write it, I will.

[Brittany]

if only we could evolve beyond the caste system. it is a disease that knows no end. it's more one of fear and hate than stupidity. stupidity means we could educate… how do we tackle hate and fear?