Monday, July 18, 2011

Am I a hypocrite about race?

Recently I asked if judge Belvin Perry has a speech problem because he says pacifically instead of specifically and bofe & wiff & axe instead of both & with & ask. As expected, I got slammed. One responder said that there are various accents across the USA. I maintain that it is not an accent issue. This guy is a respected judge and cannot pronounce these words correctly. It bothers me that he has so much education and cannot speak proper English. On the other hand, until I retired, I used to commute by bus and there was a young black guy that got on the bus most days. He would be dressed in his baggies and always wore a hoodie pulled over his head. I could see a lot of white folks looking at him with that look that young guys dressed like that get. My first thought was that the poor guy has a job to go to and has to ride this bus with a bunch of fat bitchie white women. One day he got on the bus with another young guy who had a problem with his pay check and I offered to help as that was my area of expertise. That began a friendship that lasted for two or three years, despite the fact that he spoke ghetto language that often I could barely understand. We were two of the most unlikely candidates for a friendship that one could imagine. Me, an old white guy in his 50's with a good education, he a young black guy barely out of highschool. But I liked the guy and he liked me. He particularly liked my candor and soon learned that he could be candid with me. It became fun to watch the looks on the faces of some of the people on the bus when we would ask questions like who is that goofy looking white guy that plays for the warriors or some other question that white & black people are afraid to ask. My question is, how can I be totally unconcerned about this young black kid's ability to speak English and so concerned about Belvin Perry?

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