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When I was a child, racial tension in my small hometown did not exist. There was no them, only us. Everybody was white. The caste system was in effect, to be sure, from the apex of the Caucasian ladder to the depths of the pale trash heap; but all of us were white. The only American-Indian I was familiar with was riding the range on a horse named Scout with Clayton Moore. The Cisco Kid represented the Mexican contingent, and, because the only TV channel we got did not carry Amos n’ Andy, black people remained absent. If there was an African-American living in town, he would have been blonde, from Johannesburg, and named Günter. Racial diversity did not exist. Well, that’s not exactly true. One summer we had a lifeguard at the lake who was Hawaiian. He was pretty dark. A lot of us kids marveled at the depth of his tan and the sometimes strange way he talked, but the real marvel was his total relaxed ability in the water.
A very honest story, I believe. I’m African-American. Over the years, I have been too black for some white people and too light-skinned for some black people. I find that racism is not limited by education or color, and idiots can be found in evey hue of the rainbow. I think you’re minister must have been a wise man. Brave too.
David, you have mentioned you were a cop. Did you ever racial profile any body?
K.B….
You betcha. If I spotted four or five white guys driving around a black neighborhood at one o’clock in the morning I’d shake ‘em down.
I think that was a disrestectful answer.
I don’t. David, if you don’t mind my asking, what is your genetic background?
On my mother’s side, upper Germanic. On my father’s, Norse by way of Lewis Island off the coast of Scotland. If I were any whiter, I would glow in the dark.
Hey, Lewis! That “glow in the dark” thing was why you quit being a policeman, wasn’t it?
Bobby! You’re right. It’s scary out there in the dark with the bad guys…especially when all the other cops want you to light the way. When I left, everybody had to go back to flashlights.