On 6/22/2013 5:29 PM, Dave Smith wrote:
>
> She readily admitted to have used "the N word" in the past. She is her
> 60s and grew up in the south. I would not have believed her if she said
> she had not used it. I wonder if the complainant ever used the words
> cracker,honky or whitey.
>
There *is* the flip side. But no, I've never been called a cracker,
honky or whitey.

I *have* encountered more reverse discrimination than I care to think
about. But that was in Memphis, TN. Probably due to lingering
resentment. Hanging onto it doesn't help.

In the mid-1980's, I went to lunch with a black co-worker, Clarissa.
She wanted to buy an alarm clock. We went the Target store across the
street. She bought her alarm clock then we decided to grab lunch at the
lunch counter. The black woman behind the counter took her order then
pointedly ignored me. Clarissa spoke up, "Aren't you going to ask my
*Sister* what she would like?" The woman started sputtering... "Uh, uh,
I didn't know..." No, she'd have no way of knowing, would she? I was
simply dismissed for being a white woman.

Clarissa asked me while we were eating our lunch, "Does that happen a
lot?" Yes. It does.

I could recount many more experiences like this. Racism isn't one-sided.

Where I live now in SC, I have yet to encounter it.

Jill

"jmcquown" > wrote in message
...
> On 6/22/2013 5:29 PM, Dave Smith wrote:
>>
>> She readily admitted to have used "the N word" in the past. She is her
>> 60s and grew up in the south. I would not have believed her if she said
>> she had not used it. I wonder if the complainant ever used the words
>> cracker,honky or whitey.
>>
> There *is* the flip side. But no, I've never been called a cracker, honky
> or whitey.
>
> I *have* encountered more reverse discrimination than I care to think
> about. But that was in Memphis, TN. Probably due to lingering
> resentment. Hanging onto it doesn't help.
>
> In the mid-1980's, I went to lunch with a black co-worker, Clarissa. She
> wanted to buy an alarm clock. We went the Target store across the street.
> She bought her alarm clock then we decided to grab lunch at the lunch
> counter. The black woman behind the counter took her order then pointedly
> ignored me. Clarissa spoke up, "Aren't you going to ask my *Sister* what
> she would like?" The woman started sputtering... "Uh, uh, I didn't
> know..." No, she'd have no way of knowing, would she? I was simply
> dismissed for being a white woman.
>
> Clarissa asked me while we were eating our lunch, "Does that happen a
> lot?" Yes. It does.
>
> I could recount many more experiences like this. Racism isn't one-sided.
>
> Where I live now in SC, I have yet to encounter it.

Yes. I well remember the race riots when I lived in Wichita. We moved from
there when I was 7. But I used we used to go over to my grandparent's
house. My grandma would make Jiffy Pop. The kind where the foil top puffed
up. She thought we kids would be amused by it. We weren't. At home we
made it in a pan with a real lid. Anyway... She would portion it out into
her little wooden salad bowls and we would sit down 3 feet from the TV on
her footstool. She said if we sat any closer to the color TV, it would harm
our eyes. We only had a black and white at home. She would then put on the
news and we'd watch the race riots. Seemed to start every day at 5. My
grandpa seemed to be very conflicted. He was in fact a racist. And white.
But... When he was in Vaudeville (before my time), he did soft shoe dancing
and black face. I never really understood that. But... Those were the
days.

Then we moved here. And I was amazed! Suddenly we could just walk around
and be who we were and nobody cared! I had kids in my class of varying
ethnicities and they were just like everyone else. Was a tad shocking to
behold. I grew up knowing that I was part Cherokee and constantly being
cautioned not to tell anyone for fear of having our house vandalized.
That's what they did there in those days.