Here’s a story from a couple of years ago. I was enjoying a pleasant experience at a suburban men’s clothing store the other day. My salesperson, John, was enthusiastically taking my money, and I was excited about the clothing he had up-sold me. I only went in for a shirt. The alterations on my new sport coat and two pairs of slacks would be ready in two days. We headed to the counter. That’s when prejudice reared its ugly head.

An Interruption

John was interrupted by another salesperson,” He doesn’t want me to wait on him.” John said,” What?” and was answered, “He wants his own kind.” John stopped and looked at the other employee and said, “Excuse me?” The employee repeated, “He doesn’t want me to help him.”

What Year is this?

This is 21st century. I’m shopping in a nice, suburban neighborhood, retail outlet. The customer refusing help is a clean-cut, well-groomed, professional-looking, 30 something. Is this for real?

With clenched jaw, John went to the store’s manager. The manager helped the customer.

The employee whose help had been refused was an African American. I learned from John that his co-worker was a 70-year-old retired military man. He fought for our country and defended us all.

Too Much Hate

If you Google “Hate Groups,” there are over 900 hate groups listed. Should we start a Dexteresque hate group – a hate group that hates hate groups?  Well … no. It’s a reminder that racism continues to exist. It can be anywhere and is everywhere. It’s the responsibility of people to work against it, and it starts with our children. Do not assume they know what is right – teach them, show them, lead by example.

A Day at My Parents Business in 1964

When I was 13-years old, my parents owned and operated a neighborhood convenience store. A small cafeteria was attached to the store. Mom ran the cafeteria. Dad ran the store.

The cafeteria did a lively lunch business supported by a few local businesses. One warm summer day, a local power company service crew stopped to eat. One member of the service crew was an African American. Several regulars from a local gravel operation began heckling the man, “You know where the colored section is? It’s out in your damn truck you ___!” The taunting became worse. My dad took off his white store apron, handed it to me, and asked me to run the register. He was going to lunch. My dad went through the line, got a tray of food and sat down with the African American man. It was a lesson. The cafeteria closed a short time later. It had been blackballed. Over the years, my dad taught me we all have prejudices, but must understand they are wrong and work to change them.

Teach Your Children about Prejudice

The lesson here is to teach your children. We as parents have THE talks with our children including the drug talk, sex, stay away from strangers, and more, but shouldn’t we have the tolerance talk? Shouldn’t we warn them about prejudice? Yes, we should. Because, it’s our responsibility to share about prejudice with our kids. So, yes it should be our job to teach them tolerance.

 

 Photo by Larm Rmah on Unsplash