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20 de Abril, 2007
black men playing basketball
Categorized under
Literatura
| Tags: Fear, racism
TAKEN FROM a fantastic book by Derrick Jensen, called The Culture of Make Believe.
I have to admit I'm glad I was born white. Very rarely have I received stares of hatred due to my race. When I was a teenager, I spent a summer at the University of Southern California, and often wandered off-campus into Watts, where I'd see black men playing basketball. At first I was scared to join them. I was white, they were black, and I'd been told by television that these men could be dangerous. Finally I asked someone in my dorm—a black man—if he thought it would be okay. I will never forget the pained look he gave me before he said, "You grew up in a white comunity, didn't you? You don't know anything." Then he turned my insult into a joke. He started laughing and said, "So long as they're holding a basketball, they can't pull a gun on you." After that, we began running early mornings through Watts. He cautioned me, playfully poking fun at my racist fears, 'Make sure you don't lag behind me. A white man chasing a black man just won't fly here.'
I went to play basketball many nights. We had fun. The only night I got worried was during a marathon one-on-one game (to one hundred) with a guy who kept dashing to his bag to grab what he called "pep pills." I got scared. I'd been warned on TV, after all, about youth and drugs. He could become violent at any moment. He might try to hook me on something. Finally, he asked if I wanted any, and held out his hand.
They were jelly beans."
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Comentarios (14)
RickB dijo:
So the crack thing didn't work now the CIA are trying to wreck everyone's teeth?
Palabras por RickB spat forth on el 20 de Abril, 2007 at 11:51 AM
nezua limón xolagrafik-jonez dijo:
they are so INSIDIOUS! candymongers.
Palabras por nezua limón xolagrafik-jonez spat forth on el 20 de Abril, 2007 at 11:53 AM
Dead Inside dijo:
That's beautiful. See, we aren't so terribly awful, we're at least good for a laugh from time to time.
Okay, yea, we're terribly awful.
Check out what Black Amazon is saying. We are all Kathy Serra, my ass.
Palabras por Dead Inside spat forth on el 20 de Abril, 2007 at 12:08 PM
Dead Inside dijo:
Oh. You saw that. Apologies.
Palabras por Dead Inside spat forth on el 20 de Abril, 2007 at 12:09 PM
nezua limón xolagrafik-jonez dijo:
yeah, i did see it. i am going to post on it...just figuring out my angle. this bullying shit has GOT to be stepped on. i'm not sure how we do it, tho. aside from old methods that spring to mind...and are probably only in line with the methods of the bullies anyway...not that they don't deserve their own medicine.
and i agree...it's funny, the jellybean fear. it's a good graf because it points out some of the ideas we all carry in our minds and how unfounded they can be. this blown up TV-fed fear of the Other.
Palabras por nezua limón xolagrafik-jonez spat forth on el 20 de Abril, 2007 at 12:15 PM
Carmen dijo:
Wonderful!
Palabras por Carmen spat forth on el 20 de Abril, 2007 at 12:43 PM
Heraclitus (Jeff) dijo:
Ha! That is a great story!
Palabras por Heraclitus (Jeff) spat forth on el 20 de Abril, 2007 at 01:03 PM
Sylvia dijo:
Jelly Belly devastated my school. I think once we discovered that they could condense buttered popcorn in candy form, we all lost our minds and started going crazy over it.
Those were the days...
(Don't get me started on Bertie Botts in college. Holy shit. Good stuff.)
Palabras por Sylvia spat forth on el 20 de Abril, 2007 at 01:05 PM
Deoridhe dijo:
Okay, I am with the needing of this book. Wow, what a couple of stories!
Palabras por Deoridhe spat forth on el 20 de Abril, 2007 at 01:23 PM
RickB dijo:
Devious Diva has my support, fascists shouldn't fuck with us Vonnegut fans.
Palabras por RickB spat forth on el 20 de Abril, 2007 at 01:51 PM
Rafael dijo:
"Don't ya mix with them boys, they be dangerous!"
Had to admit that I grew up with similar stereotypes and therefore fears, and I would probably have felt the same, if I didn't know anyone at the court, besides I suck at b-ball!
Palabras por Rafael spat forth on el 20 de Abril, 2007 at 02:19 PM
Blackamazon dijo:
For us it was teh pixie stix . Man that was teh stuff killed our youth
*sniffle*
Palabras por Blackamazon spat forth on el 20 de Abril, 2007 at 02:52 PM
Kai dijo:
Hehe, great anecdote. I like the author's open vibe, that somewhat awkward feeling of simultaneous trepidation and embarrassment about his white-person conditioning, his obvious desire to transcend his conditioning, and his willingness to question and expose himself. There's a certain gentle awareness to the way he comes across, which is so nice in contrast to so many white dudes who insist on sounding like booming authorities. Yeah I think I too am needing this book. And hey I'm working on a basketball post too, this is starting to freak me out, 'mano! ;-)
Palabras por Kai spat forth on el 20 de Abril, 2007 at 03:56 PM
nezua limón xolagrafik-jonez dijo:
jaja! wow. well, i think we clickin' like that a lot, bro.
and just in case anyone's wondering, derrick jensen's work is an official Nezua Must-Read recommend. he is thoughtful, original, and brilliant. not only this one, but also A Language Older Than Words is excellent.
Palabras por nezua limón xolagrafik-jonez spat forth on el 20 de Abril, 2007 at 04:59 PM