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In reply to the discussion: I'll never forget the look in their eyes, they were terrified of me... [View all]Stuart G
(38,419 posts)Mr. Scorpio:
"The thing is that struck me later, in thought, is that I realized that, in the isolation of their bleached Suburban lifestyle, they hadn't had the opportunity to interact with the dazzling array of young Black males of Detroit , such as myself at the time. Instead they were conditioned to fear us and to be scared shitless of us instead of showing us the common fucking courtesy of even talking to us or offering us an apology for almost wiping us out on our bikes while they stop for a copy of the local paper"
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.............How I got unconditioned of the fear...................................???
I grew up in an all white section of Chicago. Some fear..but some mild understanding of "social Issues" Off to major university then studied to be a teacher.. Assigned to an inner city high school. All Afro American. every height, every size, every shape every color tone.. Took a while. When I taught for awhile, I learned slowly to respect all the kids no matter what they wore, or looked like, or whatever.. Yes, took a while. .I got better and I learned. Some students read well, some did not. Some respected adults and some did not. Some swore, some did not. After a while, the students respected me and they tried the best they could. I tried the best I could too.. That is all anyone could ask for. Was there for 14 years