I have a new job, and there is a young girl who has a desk located near mine. She is Muslim and wears a head covering, and today I had the chance to talk to her. She brought up her religion when I asked her why she didn't have any photos on her desk etc... She explained it was due to the fact any pictures or other objects of living beings was against her religion as it was considered idoitry. So we started talking more and I asked her a few questions about her beliefs... then, she said something that put a very strange feeling through me. She told me she was Black Muslim and white people were evil, and she would be civil at work to me, but that was the extent of it. She said it so nicely, but her words...
I just sort of sat there, not really sure what to say. I know who Malcolm X was etc (and I do think NOT ALL Black Muslims believe this, or at least I hope not... and wow do I realize how ignorant I am...) but for the first time in my life, I was told to my face (in a nice way) that I was not liked because of my skin color. God, was it time for a wake up call for me or what? The feeling I cannot put my finger on, but I have carried with me a sort of sadness for the rest of the day as a result of it. It makes no sense to hate me because my skin pigment is light, same as any other physical feature. It does not register with me, it's not logical... Now, if I had to live with being the object of racial hatred more often than not... *sigh*
It puts a whole new spin on things, you know? It is so easy for me to stand here and try to explain my feelings on why racism gaps should be closed, but we have a very very long ways to go, including the fact I personally do not know what it is like to be on the other end. As I was born white in a dominantly white ruled country.
The way she spoke to me was very civil in fact kind, and now I imagine how I would have reacted if her words would have been filled with hate, death threats, or otherwise.
I tend to post things here that are considered to me to be some sort of cause, religious or otherwise, simply because JWD was a major turning point in my life where issues such as these could be brought out to the table, discussed and studied, learned and hopefully on my part better understood before. This time, I am not sure WHY I am posting it, other than the fact I took a nap, and just now when I woke up, it was on my mind. It still saddens me, and now I know what it is like after 26 years to be told I was not liked because of the color of my skin. It's not a very good feeling at all.
Anyhow, that's it, something I wanted to talk about, get off my chest.