The same holds true for all of their (our) otherisms.
I have tried so hard for so many years not to be that guy. But with systemic racism it is only one slip of the tongue away.
Not long ago while at work, one of the kids used the word bitch. Of course I had to say something, so I told him words like that, harmful words, will come out at the wrong time, whether you want it or not. Of course he responded by telling me how careful he is, and that he wouldn't call someone a bitch. He just didn't get it. So I gave him an example of how using these labels work.
As a driver for a limo service, I frequented a convenience store near the airport. Everyone there recognized me, and we had cordial relationships. Very early one morning a truck was delivering their products while I was there. I looked at the woman behind the counter and said, "I don't know how you people do it." All of a sudden I was that guy. And it hurt.
When I said you people, it meant you people who work these late shifts. But there was no going back.
What was said in calling Congressman Green, "boy", is not a slip of the tongue. It is not an example of systemic racism. It is outright racism. It is acceptable to U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, a 65-year-old Republican from Tennessee, and her circle to use these terms. This isn't a slip of the tongue. This isn't something that some kid has never been counseled on. This is open and outright hostility and it has to stop. Excuse my language here - fucking republicans.
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