Racism in America - alive and well

"I hate Indians! They are cheap" the woman stated quite unabashedly. The outburst was uncalled for, inappropriate and certainly unprofessional. The woman then proceeded to dare me to write about that in my blog. I was shocked, literally and could feel my blood boiling.

If she could be this open about one group of minorities, what on earth did she think of me and furthermore, what would she say about me behind my back?

I could not, no, would not let this racism pass by. I commented that she had just made quite the sweeping statement. She then proudly sneered - yes, I am a racist! Racism and bigotry is insidious and hurts all of us. The biggest irony of the story is that this woman is married to an African American, albeit separated. She has a beautiful African American/caucasian daughter who is already showing signs of questioning her heritage and wondering why she is different than the other children in her predominantly caucasian neighborhood. The woman of whom I speak hails from the former Soviet Union and came to this country sans papers and worked under the table for quite some time until she became "legal".

How quickly they forget. There but for the grace of God go all of us. I am reminded of those great leaders who have preceded us, Dr. King, Gandhi, Mohammed, Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Tutu, all of whom preached inclusion - not hatred and bigotry.

Yes, we might have a bi-racial President who self identifies as black - that is his choice, but the venom that has been spewed in his direction, no matter the cause, has been uncalled for and has created a chasm in this country the likes of which we have not seen since Dr. King was jailed in Birmingham, Alabama during the Civil Rights movement - they tried then to quash the rebellion, telling blacks that they were inferior and did not deserve equal treatment as whites, but the people would not be moved. They marched to Washington D.C. and ultimately their united voices were heard.

Yes, I am sad as I write this, but I am also hopeful that my four amazing sons will be amongst those who will turn this tide of racism and bigotry - they are biracial, two of them have children, one of whom was the sperm donor for a lesbian couple and of whom I could not be more proud.

We certainly have a long way to go and I implore all of you who read this to call out bigots and racists wherever they hide, covertly and overtly - they clearly do not share the American Dream and shame on them for not doing so!