Racism

Very little gets my blood to boil faster than racism and prejudice.  I was raise in Europe and neither of these expressions of ego, pride and sin were evident.  Well, there was the overwhelming fear of Gypsies - of the disease and larceny associated with them.  But, all Gypsies were Romanian and thanks to the Russians were stuck there.  But, heavens!, if someone was seen with brown eyes in a neighboring town, the entire district would be put on alert!  Yeah, a form of prejudice against people with brown eyes, but then again, profiling is not unwarranted.

So, when not so little Swiss Boy came to America, I had only once ever seen a black man, at Ramstein Air Base.  He was a nice man - I thought his skin color odd but, well, of what importance is that?  Even amongst the Germans I was weird because of my not so translucent white skin.  I am a quarter American Indian - I have the darker skin, thick hair on head and curved teeth to prove it.  But, I am also of German extraction, so darker than an average German.  My ability to tan always raised comments like, "I thought you were white, 10 minutes ago!"

Always good for a laugh.

When I cam to America, I lived my first two years in South Carolina.  I pretty much never say another person again, outside of my family.  Bused to a black High School seventy miles away - when the KKK would allow the bus to actually reach the school! - I was a blazing white emblem of different.  Yeah, no one liked me, except for a girl named Laura, amongst the other few whites in the school. 

The move to Colorado was a blessing!  I was a bit tired of spending every lunch hour running for my life from a very hostile student body!  No exaggeration there, Hillcrest High School was brutal on us few.  But, I did not hold this against the race, but that I was different and for some reason Americans had a problem with "different".  A fact I have seen consistently across my 45 years in this country.

Now in tenth grade, I started to notice girls - no not like that but in the manner that they were different in how they dealt with people.  The guys brutal on those whom were too tall ( I was already 6'), needed help to read English, could barely write in English and could out run a jack rabbit!  Square peg in every situation.  Did not help that I was a dork as well.

My mother became a Southern Baptist about now and so I was forced to attend.  Might have been nice if the pastor was a Christian at Aurora's First Baptist Church - but he was not, nor were most of the congregation!  However, I made a lifelong friend and met a girl named Regena Thames (it could just as easily be spelled Regina Thimes, I was so weak in my English back then!)  And I found her fascinating.  She would help me with my problem with English, explain this whole Christian ideal to me and eventually, I was to meet her family.

Uhm, culture shock, yeah, that would be a term for it ...

You see she was black, still meant nothing to me - but oh boy did it ever mean something to her parents!  Her father actually sold the house and moved across Denver to get her away from that weird German!  And, yeah, I was a bit confused.

I thought racism and prejudice was whites hating on blacks, much the same as in South Africa.  I certainly had seen this in South Carolina!  But, this was the reverse - blacks hating on me because I was white and their daughter liked me (get real here guys, I never even held her hand!).  Then I started to understand those prior two years in South Carolina: it was racism I had been experiencing at Hillcrest High School!  Well, I guess I could understand that if you were being discriminated against badly enough for generations, it might be warranted to treat your antagonists poorly as well.  Of course, chasing German boys around and threatening to cut their throats seemed a bit extreme of a reaction to me.  But, then I was one the one being chased.

I have remained color blind in my life.  I moved to Washington State because I had visited Seattle in 1970 and did not see any evidence of problems between peoples based on skin color.  My sister was to marry a black man, whom I admire greatly - three doctorates, a hard worker and he loves my sister.  Cool.

And the thought of racism faded away.  I have lived either in Washington State, Colorado or Arizona ever since High School - save for much time in my native land.  I watched with interest the collapse of South Africa and its politic of Apartheid - and the wisdom of the following trials.  The world was growing better.

Then I talk with my oldest friend from Colorado last week.  It was racism 101 from his lips and I was appalled and may have given him more a severe lecture that I would have in person!  Yeah.

The garbage flowing across his lips - stood in stark contrast - to the young man whose best friend had been Regena's older brother.  Yeah, his best friend in 10th grade had been black.  He had no problem with my running around with Regena, in fact we all hung out together a great deal prior to that move of her father.  And now ..... ?

I will admit I have a problem when any human declares themselves better than any other human.  I grew up in a country shattered by war because an elite seized power and declared themselves better than the disabled, better than homosexuals, better than the Jew, better than the Gypies, even better than Christians whom disagreed with them!  And they outright slaughtered 14,000.000 to prove they were better, stronger, more worthy of godhood than anyone else.

I really do not think that people understand that this was racism in the extreme in Germany, and not much different than that KKK terrorism of 1970 South Carolina, nor the foolish being spewed by my oldest friend.

But, sadly, it is the measure by which I can observe just how far my friend has traveled from God.  He is now better than others, even though he understands that before God - he is just as unworthy as everyone else.  Except in his mind, others are less worthy because of their skin color and he can not understand how God can be so - blind ... about something so important ...

Sigh please be in prayer for him and those whom you may know have a real sin area they need to work on ... Pride, Ego, Sin ... it all the same here - you are saying you are smarter than God, in fact  you are God ...