As I was reading this article the first thing I thought of was my best friend growing up. We were two different races (she’s black and I’m white) and I was trying to remember if there was ever a time when I saw these two plain differences between us and I honestly cannot. I simply saw her as my friend that I would ask to come out and play. She was the friend I rode bikes with, sold lemonade with, and swam with every day in the pool. But as I continued reading this article I wondered if there was something that I did not remember or that my friend may have thought of differently. Did she ever think that I said or did something because she was black? At that age was she aware that we had two major differences between us? I had never thought about how my friend perceived or looked at our friendship, until this article. Even today when I think back on my childhood friend I do not think about how she was black and I was white. I think of her and the fun we had. But I wonder with myself if I really did understand her and her thoughts and what she was feeling. Forty years ago the friendship that we shared would not have been encouraged, rather my white mother probably would have kept us from playing together. Does this mean we have come along ways? Does this mean that no longer do people see one another’s color but just their character and who they are? If this is true I first think that to understand a person and their beliefs we have to understand their history as an individual and an individual part of a larger group. And to understand how that group had suffered and at who’s hands they have suffered.
1. How do you think empathy plays a role in individual relationships?
2. Do you think blacks and whites will be able to look at one another, see each other’s color, acknowledge it, and move on?
I agree with you. Race is not something that people like to talk about. I think people do everything they can to avoid it when they should be doing the oposit.
ReplyDeleteI think eventually blacks and whites will be able to look at one another as just another person rather then seeing just black and white and begin to accept each other but I'm not sure how long that will take or what has to happen for it to begin but I do believe it is possible if people become more open-minded.
ReplyDeleteI understand what you are saying about your childhood friend, but are you saying as a kid you didn't ever realize that the two of you looked differently, because I can specifically recall when I was a kid and learning how to recognize differences and similarities, not necessarily with race but just in general. It seems we are brought up to notice these differences and show empathy, and somewhere between childhood and adulthood it becomes controversial to talk about or discuss with one another.
ReplyDeleteI think what she's saying is that she didn't think it mattered. I noticed hair color difference between me and my relatives but it never seemed important.
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