As a "Yankee" who has relocated to the South I am amazed at the diversity of opinion I encounter on racism. In my job I daily deal with TANF recipients (which I was myself not too long ago). The stereotypes of our youth are still alive and well, but in my daily experience those stereotypes are from from reality. My caseload alone presents a wide spectrum of races, genders, educational levels, work experience. Yet the view of the poor black woman, who doesn't want to work, has little or no education, and five kids with different fathers persists. That is so far from the truth. I have assisted women with college degrees, one child, coming out of lengthy marriages, men trying to put their families lives together after catastrophic job loss, and a plethora of other situations. In this generation I would hope we, as a society, would have grown past the "stereotypes". Will we ever view individuals as just that, unique people, with their own set of problems and situations?
Oddly enough I have experienced racism myself. I am a middle aged white woman with four children (all grown now) who has had to rely on "the system" while I struggled to raise my family with no assistance or support from my former spouse. When I talk about having received food stamps, or lived in public housing, my history os greeted with disbelief. "But you're white!" Or "But you're educated!" But I am human just like everyone else. Anyone can fall on hard times, or make mistakes that put them in uncomfortable positions. I work with single mothers, black and white, educated and not so educated, who have struggled and succeeded to make good lives for their families. In the end it's all about attitude and determination, and the Grace of G-d.
I thank G-d every day for putting me where I am so I can in some way return the blessings I have received. It's what I love about my job. Never forget where you came from, never think you can't fall, never judge another person. You haven't lived their lives.
2 comments:
just curious as to why you never spell out GOD....is this a jewish thing? fill me in
It has become customary for pious traditional English-speaking Jews to write the word as "G-d" -- presumably by analogy with the usual substitution of adonai, "Lord," or even ha-Shem, "the Name," for the proper name of G_d in prayers or Scripture readings. "G-d" is actually a conflation of two commandments, one against blasphemy and the other against destroying or damaging Jewish holy books or holy names -- that is, one writes "G-d" so that one can toss or rip the paper with no qualms later on. Otherwise, one might have to treat the paper as one treats a used Torah scroll or even notes from studying Torah, putting it into a central storage facility and eventually having it buried. (And, yes, by extension one types "G-d," although I think the accepted opinion is that it's OK to delete a file with G_d's name in it in English as long as you don't tear up a printout. Maybe. It's still under discussion.)
Out of respect for this law I feel more comfortable writing G_d. It's sort of like the blasphemy of saying "Jesus Christ" when you stub your toe. Which by the way I also try to avoid doing out of respect for my Christian friends.
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