Vernon, Alabama – It’s where I want to summer, Part Deux

Let me start off by saying that I’m writing this post simply because of the volume and passionate nature of comments (some posted, others received privately) that I’ve recently been receiving by some Vernon, AL residents in response to my post “Vernon Alabama – It’s Where I Want to Summer.”  There is a difference between sarcasm and arrogance – you be the judge.

I remember the day the reality I was trying to avoid set in.  The day I realized that racism is alive and well in the United States.

It was in 2003, I was 30 years old and I entered the Cactus Lounge in Perryopolis, PA (just outside of Pittsburgh) with several members of a bridal party that we were in.  I chuckle now because I’ve had to make it funny in my mind in order to not be depressed by it, but at the time it was scary.  It was just like the movie Blazing Saddles – when I walked in, the music stopped, everybody stared and then slowly went back to what they were doing.

As everyone else in the bridal party got their drinks, I sat there waiting for mine.  I sat there, sat there, and sat there some more until one of the white members of the bridal party asked the white female bartender about my drink to which she replied: “we don’t serve his kind here.”

My kind?  What kind is that?  My American-born kind?  My tax paying kind?  My law-abiding citizen kind?  My educated kind?  My working kind?

For those of you that can walk out of your door and expect acceptance generally wherever you go, it would be quite difficult to understand someone like me who has to always wonder what I’m up against because someone may not like me for the color of my skin.

Usually, this is where people say that there is prejudice/racism on both sides of the spectrum.  Absolutely correct!  However, simple mathematics based on the number of blacks as compared to the number of whites in the U.S. will dissuade the statistical likelihood that whites experience the same amount of racism over the course of their lives.  And let me state for the record, I am equally disgusted when a black person generalizes or makes racist comments toward white people instead of focusing on the true object of their anger.

Now, I brought up the incident in Pennsylvania to point out that I am not naive in thinking that racism is limited to the deep south, Alabama or Vernon, Alabama alone.  Maybe you’ll want to hear the rest of the story…

I made it through the incident at the bar without showing what I was truly feeling, I even went to the subsequent wedding reception and I tried to have a good time in yet another room full of people where there were more than 1 that had some obvious misgivings about me.  It wasn’t until late that night, when I was alone, that I sat in the dingy bathroom of the closest thing to a 5-star hotel (Holiday Inn) that Perryopolis had, and I cried – a lot.

I cried because I was tired.  I had only been on this planet for 30 years at that point, and I’d done everything I could to be a good person.  I grew up very religious and had always tried to do unto others as I would like done to me.  I paid my taxes, I paid my bills, I worked and did my best to contribute to society.  Worst of all, I had, up until that point, tried to ignore the nagging feeling that this stuff existed.  So, why was I working so hard for the acceptance of someone that didn’t even know me, but hated me?

I was hoping that in my lifetime, I would never have to personally experience true hatred with no basis other than skin color.  I couldn’t make it logical, but unfortunately I had to see it and draw some unfortunate conclusions.

So, I bring this post to those residents of Vernon, Alabama who have blasted me because they seem to think I’ve condemned the entire City of Vernon.  You couldn’t be more wrong.  I got some things off my chest about the ignorance of the statements made by both Gail McDaniel and Don Dollar.  I’m not apologizing for that.  I would’ve called the woman out by name who stated that “she didn’t want a black man over her” too if she had been brave enough to have her name posted.

I don’t think for one minute that everyone in Vernon is racist or ignorant.  But in the amount of fervor and time you’ve taken to call me out for my post, I can only wonder if you’ve taken the same amount of time to state your dislike toward what Gail or any of the other people quoted in the New York Times article said.  Because if you have/had expressed that displeasure with them, my post would not have bothered you.

I have kept my mouth shut for years, bottling up feelings in the hopes that people with racism issues would see the ignorance and lack of credibility in their thinking.  Gail McDaniel said that she fears that Obama’s election would “give blacks a right to be more aggressive.”  That statement deserves to be ridiculed.

Does that mean that every time a white President has been elected (which has been all but this year) it gave white people the right to be more aggressive?  Should the Klan have been more aggressive?  Should any of the white murderers, rapists or thieves gotten a free pass to be more aggressive with each election?  How come some 7 and 8 year old white children in Rexburg, ID were exhibiting aggressive behavior by chanting about assassination of our incoming President?  Technically, per Gail, the aggression should be limited to blacks.

I don’t know what it’s going to take for this country to grow out of this stage.  I know that we’ve taken a big step forward with the election of Obama, but I’m also a realist and know that there are some people with some real issues as it relates to race.

All I know is that even on the day that I wasn’t served a drink because of the color of my skin, I couldn’t hate white people.  “White people” weren’t the ones who mistreated me, the bartender who wouldn’t serve me was who I disliked.  I have a problem with that bartender, not “white people.”

I’ve seen some things in my lifetime that I thought I would never see – the collapse of the ‘Twin Towers’ (9/11), a commercial jetliner crashing into the Pentagon, a complete economic crumble, and the election of a black President.

I can only hope that I can someday add to that list – complete unity as a country…but I’m feeling like it’s a pipe dream.

Vernon’s got nothing on Rexburg

On the heels of my rant about 2 ignoramuses from Vernon, AL, I stumbled across an article about some 2nd graders in Rexburg, ID that were chanting “assassinate Obama” on the school bus.

Madison County Idaho, home of Brigham Young University – a Mormon school.

Since I use my blog as my place to vent, I’m going to do just that right now.

First of all, 2nd graders can’t come up with something as sinister as “assassination” all by themselves.  That’s parent-talk if I’ve ever heard it.  It’s painfully obvious that there are a lot of people that are not fit to be parents and this is proof.  Interestingly, the parents behind this kind of talk, are probably the same ones who would complain about crime rates and how others act.

When did we lose our ability to have compassion, regard, or respect for our fellow humans only to be replaced with lip service of being god-fearing, law-abiding citizens?

Hey Gail McDaniel, how come you don’t see this as aggression?  Is it ok to be more aggressive or better yet, hateful as long as the people exhibiting the behavior, look like you?

On my worst day of disliking G.W. Bush, I have NEVER said that I wish he were assassinated, nor would I ever.  I don’t wish death on anyone including those that don’t like me for no viable reason.

What I will say is that I’m disgusted by the very concept of 7 and 8 year old American children chanting words that they shouldn’t even be uttering.  More importantly, if the influence happens to be religious and specifically Mormon, I sincerely hope that people recognize this for what it is as anything but done in the spirit of love.

Vernon, Alabama – It’s where I want to summer

On occasion, we’re lucky enough to see a piece of literary mastery that truly dazzles us with the amazing.  I saw that amazing piece in the New York Times on November 10th in an article entitled “For South, a Waning Hold on National Politics”.

The author, Fred Fessenden wrote a great article.  The dazzling parts were the comments that some of the residents of this tiny rouge-collar hamlet protruding from the globe in awkwardly backward northwestern Alakuntry – I mean bama.

Let’s start with Gail McDaniel – she commented:

“I am concerned.  The abortion thing bothers me.  Same-sex marriage.  I think there are going to be outbreaks from blacks.  From where I’m from, this is going to give them the right to be more aggressive.”

Oh dear, dear Gail, you’re concerned?  I can’t imagine that in your thriving metropolis of 2,390 you could possibly be concerned or scared of abortion and same-sex marriage.  Your 7 places of worship must be doing a fine job of indoctrinating your residents on the pitfalls and wrongness of sex outside of wedlock and homosexuality.  And since you’re probably of the opinion that homosexuality is a choice and just as simple as conversion, you may want to hold one extra riddance ceremony after the new guy is sworn in. That should stamp out the ‘mo’ problem in Vernon.

You can rest assured that the black man that will soon be running the country will probably have infesting Vernon, AL with the things that concern you, as his top priority – right before fixing our national economy that’s affecting the globe (not the one on your fireplace), working on the housing crisis, and tending to this war in Iraq that was initiated by our very white ‘W’.  Don’t quote me on this, but I’ll bet Vernon Alabama is as high on his radar as Afghanistan (no, that’s not the thing you’re crocheting for Christmas).

Oh, and don’t let me forget…if the abortion and ‘mo’ thing concerns you because you’ve seen it on tv, well don’t you worry, after February of next year you won’t have to watch anymore.  You can remove those cute little metal wands resting on top of your box and watch the snow because the rest of us are going digital.

But Gail, what I’ve really been waiting to say is that I’m one of those “blacks” that is probable to be on your so-called aggressive watch list.  And I’m completely offended, but let me tell you why.

I thought it appropriate to research Vernon before I made any snap judgments – you know, like you did.  And when I compared my lot in life to that of a Vernon resident, I totally get why I have a right to be aggressive with a black President.  Let’s see:

Your “median family income is $24,381.00”.

Impressive.  But I should warn you that one of the cars in my 2-car garage cost me about $13,000 more than that and the other one cost about $20,000 more.  Hold on to your knickers…I’m probably going to get aggressive.

Your “property taxes on a $100,000 home with a homestead exemption are $259.00”.

My property taxes on one of my homes is $5,000 with a homestead exemption.  Hold your breath…I’m gettin’ angry.

“Approximate cost of 1,800 sf home with 2-car garage – 5 to 10 yrs old: $65,000 to $75,000”.

My 3,000 sf home with 2-car garage – 5 yrs old: $400,000+.  Ouch…startin’ to fume.

“Community recreation programs: Roller skating, Public Swimming Pool, City Park, Backstreet Opry, Fishing, Hunting, Walking Trails.”

Oh my dear lord, my ability to in-line skate around my gated community, or swim in my in-ground pool (that’s in my back yard), or chill in my hot tub is trumped by all of the goings-on in your community.  That’s it – I’m overheated.

Gail, to sum it all up, it’s really sad that you believe that suddenly blacks will now have the right to be more aggressive and possibly upstage your long-running right to be stupid.  If you have a cell phone…my bad, this is Vernon we’re talking about – take your home phone and dial this number: 1-800-BUY-ACLU.

Dare I forget to mention Mr. Don Dollar, the Administrative Assistant for Vernon City Hall who said:

“This is a community that’s supposed to be filled with a bunch of Christian folks.  If they’re not disappointed, they should be at the alter.”

Donny, poor, pathetic Donny, all I can say is: be a good little Administrative Assistant and get me some coffee while I make grown people decisions about running a company.  And get some concealer from Gail – your crocodile tears are making you look like Jonah while he was digesting in Orca.