Saturday, November 21, 2020

Part VII - My "Englightenment"

The title of this post totally squares with the overall blog title of "Never Too Late to Learn".  More specifically, my focus is in regards to racism and prejudice against African-American (people of color) people.  

As with so many learning experiences in life, they come much later on in life - IF one is capable to recognize them and open enough to change.  Some people refuse to accept any change at some "line in the sand" time frame.  In my view, they have ceased to exist as a "being" at that moment even though their hearts continue to beat and their lungs continue to breathe.  I am sure there are philosophical definitions for this, but I prefer to use plain English.

If I had to pick out one thing that became a catalyst for me to change is the whole concept of  "white privilege".  I first heard of the term from our son Paul who spent a significant part of his career in the academic world working at various colleges and universities.  Initially, I was offended by the term and denied it applied to me.  Who me?  Privileged?  I grew up 100% blue collar with all "the trimmings".  More on those experiences in future posts.  But for now, there is NO WAY that I could accept the fact that I was privileged. 

But I fully embrace it today.  Subsequent postings will focus on my transition into acceptance of it, albeit over decades.  


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