But... it is 2014? TG is dumbfounded

Yes, I wear "rose colored" glasses. Yes, I tend to believe the best about a situation until the opposite is beaten into me with a bat. Yes, I am trusting and optimistic. No, I am not nearly as aware as I should be about the bias, bigotry and cruelty that non whites continue to face.

Diversity and inclusion are topics that always foster passionate conversation. Conversations regarding them happen everywhere by just about everyone. Even before children understand the concept as a whole, they are aware that there are differences and that those differences somehow matter.

I feel like I have seen and heard a lot about race in just the last week. I read an article about the Student Body President at the Lawrenceville School, Maya Peterson, who was forced to step down. She posted arguably offensive pictures mocking the typical male students at her school. You can argue that as President of the Student Body she shouldn't have done or said anything that may have alienated any members of the student body. Ms. Peterson's point that creating an environment of inclusion for the 21% of Asian students and 16% of black/Hispanic students was a priority seems pretty inclusive and important to me. 

But it isn't only the one event at the Lawrenceville School. On the news this morning I caught the tail end of a report regarding the shooting of a Mexican youth near the US/Mexico border. The young man was in Mexico and was shot multiple times and killed. Later that day I did an online search to find more information about the incident and was shocked to discover that it wasn't a one time event, Sergio Hernandez and Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez are just two of the more recent victims. While some of those shot are trying to sneak into the border illegally, excessive force is often used. And there are tens of thousands (some estimates say 60,000 to 80,000 annually) who are fleeing their homes to a safer place. I know this is not a solution, that we as a country cannot absorb everyone who struggles, but I wonder if the reaction would be the same if these were white Canadian children?

Incidents in my personal life that I viewed as isolated are becoming too numerous to not be symptomatic of a larger problem. A friends 12 year old son, who happens to be black, was helping me at the store and is chastised for having my debit card; the same card that my white son uses all the time without anyone blinking an eye. Wandering a CVS with a black coworker; she is followed and asked numerous times by the same person if she needs help. The same person has seen me throughout the store and hasn't asked me once. Learning Spanish vocabulary from a friend and being shocked when she is told "You are in America, speak English!" She is as American as I am, and speaks English, Spanish and German eloquently and beautifully.

How did I not know that this still happened? That judgments are made in a heartbeat based on the texture of someone's hair, the color of their skin, or the lilt in their voice? I feel guilty that a fluke allowed me to be white - yes ALLOWED - and that the benefits I reap from that have nothing to do with my talents, intelligence, or hard work. And I wonder what I can do that would help begin to level the playing field. If you know, please let me know.