But it is a well-known prejudice that if someone opens their mouth & speaks with a Southern (U.S.) accent, that their IQ drops (in the listeners' eyes of course). That is one prejudice of mine that I have had to face. I have lots of very intelligent, educated friends from the south! But it's hard when you're colored by particular experiences: at my 1st job in Oklahoma, during the OJ trial the principal of the school I worked at said (in the middle of a faculty meeting) "I don't care what they say, that n***** done did it". My jaw was on the floor. I thought "Well, welcome to Dixie!". [although that's not terribly accurate either, Oklahoma wasn't even a state during slavery or the Civil War]
I would like to say, on behalf of all of us Okies who actually pronounce the word "Nekkid" and say "y'all" that we are NOT all ignorant (and I'll delete out this next non "kosher" phrase). Although I will tell you that "warsh" (wash) "ain't" (isn't) and "down yonder" are not part of my vocabulary.
Racism in Oklahoma is a facinating subject. You look at the geography (and I'm assuming its like this in other places too), and even though there's no formal segregation anymore, people have segregated themselves to form these mini ethnic-centered communities throughout the state. You have towns that are "Black" towns, towns that are "White" towns, and towns that are "Indian" towns. And within the major cities (yes, we have a few) you have whole sections that are segregated like this. And there's really not alot of blending, except maybe Norman, which is a college town. There's still a LOT of animosity between different groups of people, and it's not uncommon for someone who is one race to have several friends of other races, yet still be "racist" towards the general population.
Take, for instance, my dad. He's a middle aged 1/2 White 1/2 Choctaw/Comanche man (more or less, bloodlines in our family are VERY muddled to say the least). He's got several friends across the color spectrum. Yet it's not uncommon for him to make slurs, jokes, etc, mostly against Black people. There was one incident where he and I were on my side of town (I live in a predominately Black area) and we stopped to get gas. We got lots of stares, cause here's this big ole middle aged Indian guy and he's got this pale young "White" lady with him. We get back in the car and he says "Geez, I can't wait to get home and away from these people. At least I blend in with all the Mexicans there (he lives in a predominately Mexican area, and yes I say Mexican instead of Latino/Hispanic, cause let's face it. It's still Oklahoma and Mexicans probably make up well over 90% of our Latino population). It kind of struck me as funny at the time, but it really points out how backwards our culture can still be. Me, I'm kinda used to the stares in my neck of the woods (especially when I'm with him, for some reason people always assume I'm a girlfriend instead of a daughter).
Another thing that happens quite often here is that people assume you are of a certain race. For example, my sister used to work in a very popular store. She's much darker than me, and most people assume she's Mexican instead of Native. She's been yelled at (in Spanish) several times because she "refuses" to speak Spanish and answers questions asked of her in Spanish with something similar to "I'm sorry, I don't speak Spanish." People have walked up to her and assumed that because she looks a certain way she must be Mexican like them, and that if she doesn't speak Spanish she's turning her back on her culture and discriminating against them. She's not the only person I know that this has happened to. Another friend of ours (again Native) was nearly kicked out of a Mexican restaurant because she wouldn't order her food in Spanish. The waiter wouldn't believe her when she said she wasn't Mexican, and became very upset with her for denying her "heritage."
Ok, so enough rambling (for now). I think people in general can learn a great deal from each other if we just give ourselves the chance. Assumptions do nothing for us. Each one of our cultures is varied and brilliant in it's own unique way, and that is something to be proud of. Above all else, I would say we CANNOT forget the past. Doing so puts us in jeopardy of forgetting the important lessons the past teaches us. But we also shouldn't dwell on the past. Atrocities happened all across the board, and in a lot of ways they are still happening, even in America today. We can't simply say "oh, well that happened 100 years ago so it's not relevant" because if we don't take a step back, examine past with an undiscriminating eye, and take the lessons it can teach us to heart, we are doomed to repeat it sooner or later.
