Pots and kettles, Thomas.

 

Ah, the wisdom of youth! I sometimes can't help but be amused at teenagers' misconception that they are far more enlightened and far more wise to the ways of the world than their elders.

 

Thomas Hair and a friend were texting on the school bus about a boy they didn't like. Thomas was enjoying himself until his friend called the boy an ape. Thomas was horrified -- the boy they don't like is black. Thomas jumps to the conclusion that his friend is equating the boy's skin color with gorillas and Africa. That could be the case -- I was not privy to the conversation. However, I have heard white people, particularly very large men referred to as "big apes." Watch any of the old romantic comedies from the 1930's and 1940's, and you'll often find the cute young lady referring to her suitor as a "big ape." Rather than having something to do with skin color or geography, the reference is to their actions. Perhaps Thomas is the one who harbors some racist tendencies by automatically imagining the black victim of their gossip as an ape.

 

So with the wisdom born of an inflated sense of self, Thomas proceeds to tell us how racist we all are. He says that it is practically impossible not to be racist in this society no matter how principled we are. He says that calling that boy an ape was the worst form of bigotry he has experienced. Well, Thomas, why don't you tell that to those four little black girls who were killed by a KKK bomb at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham? Why don't you tell that to their families? Do you think, given a choice of the form of bigotry they were exposed to, they would have said, "We'll take the bomb instead of the name-calling"?

 

Thomas is glad that he's not like his parents and the generations preceding theirs. "My generation knows full well that skin color has absolutely no impact on someone's personality, intelligence or behavior." Yes, Thomas, I thank God that he has opened our eyes through your vast wisdom and understanding.

 

By the way, Thomas never did say he was sorry for engaging in gossip about this boy. I guess a loose tongue and condescending attitude is OK as long as you don't call a black person an ape. I wonder if Thomas has ever heard the expression "that's the pot calling the kettle black"? And before you get all bent out of shape, Thomas, that is NOT a racist expression.

 

"Do your part to end bigotry." The Dallas Morning News; October 20, 2012; p. 19A.