Be honest, are you a little bit racist?

[Norbert]

27. As a white male

I used the "N" word as a young child more times than I could remember and told enough of the jokes that goes along with it. In my environment that is what we did. At first it was because I didn't know what it meant but continued to use it even when I did know. As I grew into a young man the jokes and the "N" word stopped but I still gave a token laugh at the jokes I heard.

Today I look back and feel bad about it. I realize there isn't much I can do about the past except to refrain from ever using any such vugarity again and not only that, to be intolerant of anyone in my circle being racist. My current job is a place where diversity reigns. My favorite supervisor is an African-American lady and favorite manager when he was with the company, an African-American man. My supervisor has been a friend, a mentor, someone I will always look up to and a model of how to conduct myself professionally. I don't have black friends, brown friends, yellow friends or gay friends, I have friends.

I don't want to sound like a goody-two-shoes. I still have plenty of other faults, it's just that I realize I needed to change or be left behind.