I have discovered, over 17 years of living, that the thing that makes me the MOST infuriated is when people speak "ill" (this being a kind word) of my interracial family.
Like the lady at Starbucks who called my family "disgusting" RIGHT in front of my mother!? (Had I been there……)
Or what about the lady on the beach who told her kid that she could only play with the "white one" (referring to my blood-related sister, Evangeline) and not the "black one"--except she used the N word?! (My mother had to pin me down so I didn’t slap her with all my might—not kidding.)
How about the countless people who asked us while we were in the process of adopting Ray Ray, “Why would you adopt a black one?” (To this I spat back, “Because there were no PURPLE ones!!”)
Can you believe the RUDENESS and the AUDACITY of these people?!
Seriously! WHY is a white family with a black baby (or husband, or wife, or brother, or sister, or ANY relation) such a big deal?! Answer: It’s not. It really isn’t.
People generally associate racism against African-American people with the pre and post-Civil War eras, but it still prevails today! I just don’t understand. Why does the color of one’s skin change how people think of them?! That’s NUTS!!
People don’t compare the size of each other’s feet or length of hair, or height, or tone of voice to decide who’s worth anything! If someone tried, everyone around them would laugh or call them crazy. Why does the color of the skin matter?!
I know I’ve had a post about this before, but it is worth reposting.
For the record, I fully plan to adopt many children from other countries and the majority of them won’t be white. (My husband has really no say in the matter—sorry whoever-you-are! Hope you love adoption!)
I am not as patient as my mother is. I do not have her kind of self-control under circumstances such as these. I have no qualms with slapping people or shouting at them regardless of where I am or whom I’m with.
Please, think about your words before you say them! My sister has cried before because she has different colored skin than the rest of my family does and she didn’t even hear these mean words; she just came to that on her own! Think of how hearing these things could crush her—or anybody—before you say them.
