It's a good god damn thing we keep those niggers behind fences!
She declared. It surprised us the same way a blown tire might have if it was blown by a laser from an alien ship. My brother and I looked around at first. I checked the radio to make sure we weren't tuned to WKKK while my brother rolled up the window, either because he thought it came from outside, or to keep the flagrant racism in.
Grandma sat in the back, purse clutched to her chest, wig secured by enough bobby pins to set off a metal detector. We were driving by a low income housing development just after gorging on Thanksgiving dinner.
Her rascism was usually more subtle. The tightening of her grip as we walked by anyone of color, the forbidden line that dissected the neighborhood, white from black, the generalizations spoken under her breath to friends, They all steal, you know.
When we were caught robbing jewelry stores and plastered all over the 6 o'clock news, she was devastated. I can't imagine the embarrassment, humiliation, and shame. Her peers would look down on her as a failed Mother.
She blamed it on a woman, Some girl did this to your father, brainwashed him into stealing, he'd never do it on his own. My therapist says she's right, it was a woman that brainwashed him, her.
I don't talk to her was her response when Rachel asked if she ever saw my sister. She ruined the family's good name by having a baby with a black man.
The family's good name? I thought. Didn't Dad single-handedly drive a wrecking ball into that long before my sister gave birth to the anti-Christ?
Classic Grandma.
John McCain will receive a vote from her not because he stands for what she believes in, but because he's the 'right' color. I fear others, black and white, are going to the polls this November to pick a color, not a candidate.
Maybe we should keep them behind fences.
4 comments:
WOW I didnt think I had that much power over a name I do have to say I got a kick out of this blog..
I wouldnt change anything about my family its all how u raise the kids logan is a gem cant say I care what people think about what my kids color is let them say it to me is all I have to say,
call us will ya we miss u jacob thinks you forgot about him keep up the writing I get my laughs out ever sunday...love ya sis
Hey, you talked to my health class at school today, and I just wanted to say I love how you speak and use words [:
About your grandma, my mom was kind of like that, not as extreme but it is pretty frustrating. Anyway, good luck with your book!
Thanks Christina, I love talkin to you guys, please stay in touch, my email is on the blog.
i just want to say that i heard you speak in my health class too. when i came to your blog i wasnt sure what to expect, but with your writing creativity and ability to portray your experiences thorough both humor and compassion, i dont think youll have any trouble getting some one out there to read your book.
i know i would.
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