My reply to Silvery Lizard

Three little known racism facts:

• Racism is the leading cause of death by stupidity. Being stupid and a bigot kills.
• Heavy racist smokers fill more bar stools in the Stupid Man’s Saloon than any other smokin’ drinkin’ idiot. Please don’t let your friends drive and racially divide.
• 99.666 percent of racist marriages end in divorce. Hatred is the other man/woman and soon jealousy sets in destroying your hate filled union. Do not go to bed an angry racist it’ll ruin your marriage.

Nope, we didn’t feel targeted at all. I know there have been a lot of white bashing posts going around. As I said in my comment concerning the posts I wrote about holidays, while writing them not once did I think of race. I never thought of red and white. I thought of a celebration built on misrepresentation and of people willing to ignore repeated requests not to send holiday cards. However, I’m sure that since race is such a volatile subject that entry could have also been considered racially charged. I’m pleased to know that you saw the post for what it said and not what it might have meant. The posts were about holidays, untruths and boundaries, not race. When I read that you understood that I was quite relieved. It kind of spun my head around when it occurred to me that maybe someone could have seen it as a racially charged post therefore making my post guilty by association. Not all anti-thanksgiving posts are racially charged but it is very possible that since many are mine could have somehow been seen that way. Yikes. So far no one has said it sounded that way but it just popped into my head that it could have sounded that way.

As you said in your entry, there are many times that people are guilty by association (crime, race, what have you). Race is one of those topics that easily gets out of hand. Most people aren’t willing to address it socially because of its high potential to end friendships. Talking about race is like walking on a frozen lake with a friend. Both are talking to each other like reasonable adults when one wrong move is made and the whole scene changes. You hear that infamous slow rolling crack. It creeps across the pond at first but then quickens its pace. The next thing you know you’ve been sucked into icy water and your friend is not willing to throw you a buoy. It’s a hard subject and one I try my best not to address on this journal simply because of its destructive tendencies. Sometimes it comes up but for the most part I leave that subject alone.

I’m happy we have an understanding of the purpose of your posts and of mine. You are welcome to email me, that’s not a problem.

Smiles to you and yours,
Austin’s August