morning, since I almost never read all of a digest on a weekend (not
when I could be letterboxing!). I also thought I was misreading and
read it again and again, with a huge sinking feeling. I AM African
American and I happen to enjoy letterboxing, but this suddenly
tainted my whole world, as do ALL the reminders of racial hatred that
pop up just when I'm finding a place of full tolerance. We've been at
parties where someone has said something like this and I had to sit
there clutching my husband's hand in a death grip to keep him seated
while trying to politely scold the speaker and NOT ruin everyone's
good time. It's awful to feel like my reaction is watched by the
world and even worse to watch my husband, a Caucasian male, have to
suffer with me because HIS anger won't help either (he gets
the "well, of COURSE it makes YOU mad...your WIFE'S black" comments).
I was ready to call him in to show him this atrocity, to sit and try
to understand how you can be ignorant and still have a computer, how
you can get into a group meant for happy things and still be a
racist, how you could be so BLIND in your racism to not know enough
to at LEAST keep comments like that to yourself, that you could
actually be so backward as to think that there wouldn't be ONE person
of color reading (or that you wouldn't CARE)...and then I read all
the subsequent posts.
Folks, I don't know if you've ever been in a bad situation in school
with a bully teasing you and all your friends no where in sight, but
if you have, then you can remember that feeling when the teacher
showed up or a stranger stepped in and said, "Hey, why don't you just
leave her/him alone, man?" Not only did one person step in, but a TON
of people! I don't know if you're all white or black (or
fuschia/blueberry/grape!), but the fact that you SPOKE UP and STOPPED
him so that he KNEW he'd done wrong (the way you have to with all
bullies) was enough to bring me to tears. I don't think ANYONE
besides my husband has ever really come to my rescue in such a
case...they've always been too embarrassed to do more than half
chuckle and say, "Oh, that's bad...don't say that" but NEVER have I
seen outrage. I felt ashamed for ever having thought that I'd have to
quit this hobby.
If any of you ever comes out Western NY way, be sure to get a hug
from this sprite, whose wings you all brought the breeze back under!
May all your boxes be FFs with brand new hitchhikers in them and
handmade stamps so well thought out that they bring you to
tears...you're all the best! :-)
The (greatly moved) Sprite and the (finally unclenching his fists)
Highlander
--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, Hikers_n_ Hounds
> Thank you very much Mark. Welcome back safe and sound.
>
>
> --- Mark Pepe
>
> > One more thing - this Bob Heasley character, real or
> > a personna, has
> > been banned.
> >
> > Mark Pepe
> >
>
>
>
>
>
> __________________________________
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