A Racial Double Standard

An old friend of mine came back in town last Thursday from the Navy for a couple weeks. I was nervous when he told me about going into the armed forces, but it's hard for me to hang around the kid all too often, even after he's been gone for a few months.

It's interesting. He bought my book and raves about it to other people, but I honestly don't see how he could do such a thing if he actually read the darn thing, because there are a lot of poems in there that he'd throw a fit about if he truly understood the message and intent. I can only imagine what he'll say about my upcoming political satire, but who knows, maybe he won't understand it.

Two nights ago, I hung out at his place for approximately three and a half hours, although, it seemed more like seven. All he did was drink, smoke, and complain about "blacks." He usually didn't use that word though. He'd typically use that other word, six letters, begins with a "n" and ends with a "r." He also rattled off some lovely racial jokes. Even though I didn't laugh at a single one of them, he kept going, because he was enjoying it. Whether he was enjoying the jokes themselves or enjoying the fact that he was making me uncomfortable, I don't really know.

He vented about certain stereotypes all night and contradicted himself when it comes to his beliefs and actions.

Then, ironically enough, his "black" friend called. Yes, he has "black" friends, believe it or not. He told me about the guys in the Navy where he was stationed and claimed that only 1,300 out of 5,000 were white and the rest were "Hispanic, Cuban, Filipino, and Black." He complained about a "black" man who was ranked higher than he was and yelled at him to do something. This friend of mine thought to himself at the time and announced to me something along the lines of how he shouldn't have to work for a "black," but again, he used another term.

I then attempted to change the subject and hopefully illustrate his contradictory ways by asking him, "So, do you get along with most the people there?"

To which he responded, "Yeah, and of the four best friends I have there, three of them are black."

Right there, I was hoping he saw what I saw, but no, of course not. He commented, "I get along with them fine. I just shouldn't have to work under them." Uh huh.

Then, he turned on this "Cops"-like show and when a man was pulled over and told the cop that the car was not his but his girlfriend's, my friend spoke out again and said, "Of course it's not yours. You're 'black.' You stole it." But, when a white driver was drunk and crashed into a semi truck, my friend said, "That wasn't his fault."

He even told me about how there were so many "blacks" in the Navy because they were too "pansy" to be in the Marines or Army. "They'd rather be alive so they can steal than to actually put their lives on the line." I gave him the oddest of looks, because, well, he's in the Navy and last time I checked, in terms of skin color, he's the furthest thing from black imaginable. This was right after he said that, "Some like to claim that the Navy is the pansiest of the armed forces, but that's not true. The Air Force is."

This ignorance drove me nuts until I finally said I had to go home. I don't care how long he's been away. I can't subject myself to that kind of stupidity. In his mind, it's okay for "blacks" to entertain or work the lowest-paying jobs on the market, but it's not allright for them to be ranked higher than a white person. If whites are in the Navy, then they truly wanted to be part of the Navy and no other armed force. But, if blacks are in the Navy, then it's obvious that they were too weak to make it in the Marines or Army. If a white man commits a crime, then there has to be something more to the story. But, if a black man commits that same crime, then there's no question about it. He's guilty.

The "N" word in and of itself does not signify racism. It depends on the context in which it's used. My friend used it in a racist manner, because he used it in an attempt to portray "blacks" as inferior to whites. If one believes all males to be superior to females, we can classify them as sexist. If one believes that one ethnicity to be superior to all members of another, then we can classify them as racist. My friend likes to deny this claim, but it's blatantly obvious to any observer. The funny (not haha) part of this whole thing is the fact that this kid is a very angry person who claims to have gone through a lot growing up. All his bad experiences came at the expense of whites. None of them dealt with "blacks" in any way, shape, or form. So, how did he get to be like this? I couldn't say for sure, but have a few ideas.