I really do hate all this. It has made me uncomfortable all my life. I was born in Pa but my mother was from NC. I was taught that every black was a . I was schooled in the north and only one year did a small Army base bring in a black family and all of the 4 boys were elected class president that year. They were total jerks and came from the city to a very rural area and hated the country life. A product of the 60s I came to believe (unlike my parents taught me.) All men and women were created equal. I tried my best to live that creed. I moved south and became very good friends with several black men and worked side by side with them. BUT! I was always white and they were always black. We were on a level playing field unless I slipped and said the wrong thing, made a remark that sounded wrong. Wore the wrong clothes. For an example I was buffing the paint on a car in the B/Shop and I put a polishing bonnet on my head to cover up my clean hair. A black guy that did not know me well told others I was making fun of the way the blacks at the dealership wore the plastic bags on their heads to protect the Gerry-Curl do they had going on. My black FRIENDS told me that they found the bonnet to be a tad offensive. That is why I hate it. That is why it will never go away the field is only level if all the White Christians do all and say all the right things all the time. I have had my own business for many years in the past and I work for myself again today. I have hired as many blacks as I have whites, but I have fired every one of the blacks. Not because they are black. Everyone was hired with the understanding that there are 2 rules. #1 “I pay very well and I work very hard. I am older than you and have hired you. I expect you to work as hard NOT harder than me every minute of every day. #2 if I am working you work, if I stop you can stop also. But if I am working and you are not, you are fired.” The truth is I give about 5 warnings before I give up and let people go. You can not believe the number of black men I have let go before noon break. Is it the color of the skin? Whose fault is it? I do not work harder just because I am working next to a black man. How hard does any electrician work anyway! I hate it, I hate it. I won’t go away as long as I can’t treat all blacks like they are white. It won’t go away as long as I am a white Christian, homeowner, business owner that can’t even see or hear the railroad tracks from his house. I owe no one anything. Not a dime, not an apology, not a thank you. I worked hard to earn everything I have, don’t expect me to give you anything you don’t earn. I want it to just go away. I really do hate it all.
