and knowing better than they, and the insensitivity with which you responded to her imaginary comment certainly paints you in a terrible light, so I can see why you ended this OP post like you did. I wouldn't have hidden it, however, because it is such a great example of people pretending to better, smarter, less racist, etc., than someone else.
It delves into an area known as "respectability politics", in which people point out that if others would just act in a "better" way, the problem would be solved. What they neglect to do is acknowledge that the "subject" of their "advice" lives in a climate of white superiority, a climate they help to enforce. People who practice this can be black or white, btw. It is similar to suggesting that slaves could do better if they would just educate themselves, while the white plantation owner and the society around them kill them if they try to learn to read.
This is a good article concerning this. You might not have written your OP if you had read it first, or may be you would have. lol
http://www.thenation.com/blog/176183/respectability-politics-wont-save-us-death-jonathan-ferrell#
That mom's actions may have had nothing to do with you. The kid may have had a cold and she didn't want to infect you, she may have been afraid for her child next to a stranger (white strangers have been known to lash out and smack other people's black kids).
There is an animal known as the "High Horse of Self-Righteousness, from which one can look down on others and see their missteps but, strangely, not see their own...
here.
Maybe it's time to step down from the saddle.
Btw - the first clue I got that this was a posting designed to highlight a negative situation (and maybe a fictional one) was that you didn't post anything about how to tie a damn shoe properly...
What the kid needed to know about was a "reef" knot - here's a couple of tutorials. Very handy to know, btw. And next time you see the mom, if you find yourself in a similar situation, you can actually have something useful to say.
http://www.ted.com/talks/terry_moore_how_to_tie_your_shoes?language=en
Edit history
Recommendations
0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):
= new reply since forum marked as read