Jim Crow lives down the street

My eleven year-old son confided to his mom the other day that during a disagreement with one of his school pals about Obama’s merits, the friend said that he agreed with his own father’s proclamation that if Obama was found dead in a ditch it would be okay with him.

Now, it should be noted that this trailer-trash talk is coming from a guy who’s “trailer” is a McMansion in the Pittsburgh suburbs, and who’s pickup truck is a luxury performance coupe. Though non-religious, I still try to find the log in my own eye before I complain of the mote in the other’s, and my own residual prejudices deserve persistent scrutiny. His offensive and (presumably) racial sentiment which we might have hoped to be relegated to eras gone by has visited our doorstep as unwelcome - let’s be honest - as a hip-hop gang-banger from the inner city. We celebrated Obama’s inauguration with genuine enthusiasm, but we know better than to declare this historical event as the pinnacle of post-racial America. It’s a landmark, to be sure, but based on this situation, I wonder about the expected positive catalyst to dialogue on race.

This unfortunate exchange of my son’s might for some spark just such a dialogue, but practically speaking, I am forced to consider desired actions and desired outcomes? It’s easy to dismiss my desire for heated confrontation as the result would at the very least be recurring social awkwardness (our paths cross frequently and our community relationships are deeply intertwined). The most desired outcome may be a complete reversal of sentiment on the part of the dad and his son; a declared genuine mutual admiration of our new president and repudiation of all judgments based on race. What action could possibly precipitate this outcome? Intermediately, I speculate on what action might nudge the atavistic racist even slightly toward a more progressive view. I can hope to plant some seeds of enlightenment here and there in coming months and years with mild expectations of improvement. In the meantime, I use this episode as an instructional opportunity for my son. We discussed the issue openly, including the notion that we will always be confronted with friends and acquaintances that hold differing values. In each of these cases, our values are tested and opened for re-examination without being compromised for expedience.

Or is that exactly the opposite of what I have modeled by not confronting the dad?

The mind of a bigot is like the pupil of the eye. The more light you shine on it, the more it will contract.
- Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.