On Racism, Ethnic Prejudice, and [Not] Whining

It was a miserable snowy night, and Anglicat dearly hoped that her son's soccer referee certification class would be cancelled. The class was to be held in the conference room of a downtown hotel, and travelling through the storm would take double the usual time. Alas, the class was NOT cancelled. Anglicat dropped her son off, and claimed a table in the hotel's pub to read away the time, since driving anywhere else in the bad weather would be exhausting, if not dangerous.

Little would Anglicat have guessed, but the hotel pub, very near the State Capitol, appears to be a favorite watering hole for a few Democratic legislators. Expounding on the issues of the day, one loud mouth said, "Well, let me tell you a story about this big dumb Polak...." Anglicat's heritage, though hidden by her married name, happens to be 100% Polish, and she did not take kindly to this STATE LEGISLATOR'S outrageous slur. Refusing to apologize, he is now emblazoned on my camera phone, awaiting a more relaxed time when I can find the opportunity to identify him. This is the sort of thing that his constituents need to know.

It was only a few days later that I sat through a clergy colleague's railing about racism in America during our recent clergy retreat. The man complained that he stopped going to coffee shops because he was tired of hearing about Obama referred to as "that damn nigger." The distinguished retreat leader responded to the rant with an anecdote about the progress we are making as a culture, describing how he endorsed Obama from the pulpit he was guesting without technically endorsing him, so as not to threaten the church's tax exempt status, and how the rector of the church, whose skin tone approximates Obama's then said, "I can't endorse a candidate either, but you can just look at me." His implication was that all people of color should vote for Obama, something that is patently false, but not false enough in a country that purports to evaluate persons by their skills and accomplishments, not their skin color.

Who would guess that in the 21st century, an elected official in politically-correct MINNESOTA would feel free to demean an ethnic group with arrogant impunity? Just wait, buddy: I will, someday, discover your name and district, though you and your shameful cohort would not disclose it. Boorish prejudice is just that, whether it targets a pet protected group, or one that has quietly transcended continuing prejudice without whining. Dobrze zrobiony, mój ludzie.