I know...

You're right. I think part of the problem is that the 'right thing to say' too often doesn't fit neatly into any of the designated boxes we have created to define the things in our lives. God forbid we be willing to work with a venn diagram.

Is it really? It's not like I suggested we sell them into slavery, all I said is it would benefit them to experience what it is like to be a minority. I don't exactly see many white supremacist and blatantly hateful racist people willingly signing up for that class. Each lesson you mentioned is most effectively learned through immersion. I have seen many people change their mindsets, but I have only seen it happen when people are willing to go outside their comfort zone and better get to know those who they see as so fearfully different. I have seen it with racism and homophobia. But if you are not willing to take that step outside of your comfort zone, you will likely never get to see that the differences aren't really differences at all. SO, yes, in my fantasy land of a mind, I wish there was a way to push them outside of their comfort zone of racist hate and force immersion so that they have a chance to see things differently.

I know. But not just a dream, a fantasy.

but it's a good one.

I would totally vote for that. I was trying to be 'fair' and give them an opportunity to waken their dead hearts and rejoin the human race, but realize the chance of that is slim to none. We should go with yours.

@Amzungu I would really like for those folks to be gone. I just hate to put them in somebody else's yard.

@hankster Agreed, it would not be a very kind thing to do to Africa. I do very much think all white people would benefit from the experience of being the minority. I spent quite a lot of time in Kenya in places where white people hadn't been previously seen. When you watch babies scream in terror at the sight of you, and children fear you and run at the sight of you, simply because your skin and your hair are so different from what they have been exposed to before, you come to understand things a bit differently. When you are able to overcome those fears and build relationships, you really start to understand, and both sides win in the end.

@Amzungu that would be different. I've never really done anything like that. I would have to think it makes someone very self-conscious.

@hankster That, it does. A little self awareness can be a necessary thing. I also learned that it only takes one brave soul to bridge that fear. The little girl in the red checkered dress in the photo below was my bridge. She was cautious, but not afraid. She held my face in her hands two inches from hers and thoroughly inspected me. Ran her fingers through my snake like hair, touched my hairy bare skin. If I tried to back away, her little hands brought me closer still. This went on for a solid half hour and by that time all the children in the village had decided to face their fear, too. Now, when I visit the village, the children run to me instead of away.

@Amzungu that is really super cool!

@hankster It truly was. It's one of my most cherished moments.

@Amzungu kids like that go a long way toward making what is beautiful about living.

@hankster I completely agree!