Bernie Sanders: White People Don't Know What It's Like To Live 'In The Ghetto'

[Blackjackdavey]

79. Exactly right -- it takes courage and self awareness

I grew up in the suburbs of Rochester, New York. My little town was definitely all white. We weren't wealthy but certainly posing as middle class. During college, I became a trail guide for the boy scouts in the mountains of North Carolina. Each week I ran a different group of scouts, from all over the country, through a backpacking trip that ended with a banquet at a local, rural diner. We always sat at the picnic tables outside the diner, in the back. One week I had a group of scouts from New Orleans. It was an all-black troop. We went and did the usual thing at the diner and they, as usual, directed us to the back porch and the picnic tables. One of the leaders became very upset and the more I tried to tell him it's where we sit, the more angry he became. I had no idea what was up. Afterward, the other leader paid me the kindness of explaining to me what the issue was, what the symbolism of having this group of kids sit out back rather than inside the restaurant represented. I had no idea what was going on but realized afterward how my white suburban guy's obliviousness contributed to that group's hurtful experience of bigotry. I should have, in retrospect, insisted that this is the week we sit inside. These are the lessons we need to learn -- with an open mind -- and this is what Bernie was referring to.