I recall another incident, this with my son in high school. The school they attended was racially mixed (good school). We live near a military base so there is a community of Caucasians, Asians, Latinos, African Americans, etc. Part of the cafeteria is outside and there was a table of students who would sit and watch the clouds calling out the shapes or images they saw. One one particular day, on of the girls, an African American, shouted loudly, “I see a rabbit!!!!!!” A group of boys which included my son looked over at the table and stared for a moment at the table. The African American girl jumped up, went in to the office, and a short time later a teacher came out and began lecturing the boy about tolerance and how this was not the type of school that treats people this way and so on………
I asked my son why no one at the table protested and explained why they had looked up and stared at the young girl and he shrugged and said, “It wouldn’t make a difference.” “She didn’t ask for our side of the story.” I am pointing this out, not because of what the young girl did (silly girl), but because the teacher automatically assumed that the boys were guilty.
I think, that is what makes me so mad about racial issues, the rush to judgment. It is getting to the point where someone can be accused and found guilty without proof or questioning, and any plausible exclamation is dismissed. Even someone who makes a stupid thoughtless remark, and after their life is examined, they prove to be a decent person, and they express sorrow and attempt to make amends, there are those who demand they be hung out to dry.
Often lately, I’ve been thinking that being liberal makes some people actually more rigid, unforgiving, and intolerant.
