Greetings from my hang at the "B&N" (Barnes & Noble)....
Sitting here people watching (and simultaneously Facebooking....is that a word?) on a Wednesday night here in Amish country....I'm still amazed that people can still shock the hell out of me in this town....about 10 minutes ago, I overheard a middle-aged couple sitting in the Starbucks section, referring to an African-American numerous times as "colored"...WTF?? Being the wise-ass that I am (and in this case, am very proud to be), I held up my cellphone and politely said "Excuse me, I've got the Deep South in 1964 on the phone....they want their catch phrase back." (And yes, it was worth pissing them off BIG TIME!) What shocks me even more is that nobody around them seemed the least bit shocked or offended......just when you think you've seen and heard it all.....Lancaster - gotta love it.
Some people don't get the voccabulary shift. Some never grasp the change, but not always out of hatred. When we moved to our first house, in a development in Maryland, my grandparents visited. They are/were pretty hip for their age, for example, supporting gay rights. My grandmother asked me if I had to disclose my religion to move in. I was surprised and said, "of course not, just gave them my check! If you can afford it (and we're talking townhouse here, no big expensive thing) anyone can live here." Then she whispered, "Even colored people?"
ReplyDeleteShe's coming from a history of persecution, so she can't really believe they treat us (Jews) and African-Americans without discrimination. Anyway, they were not thrilled with my non-Jewish husband at first; I don't know how they would have reacted if he were Black also. (Is "black" ok still?) Makes me wish I'd brought you or Lee home as my date! :-) But then, my grandfather was a musician and respected your father's work, so you probably would have been ok with them!