Looking at the answers given for today's Writer's Block ("What is the worst insult you've ever received from someone?"), let's me know just how charmed a life a lot of these kids have led.
Bwah!!! Reminds me of an assignment in one of my french classes in college where we had to write about a time we experienced prejudice. Sigh...I was the only black person in the class full of Beckys and Kaitlyns. I remember feeling that all too familiar pressure to be the representative of all black people everywhere and *of course* talk about race-based prejudice, but also not to harsh anyone's mellow with too much talk of you know...systemic racism and oppression. I just remember feeling really awkward about having to distill any specific experience around race into a pat easy example, cuz usually it's not just one simple insult thrown out but a series of uncomfortable interactions. Plus, you know how that works...without evidence of a burning cross or the n-word, they woulda been like "Um, I think you're being too sensitive. Are you sure that happened cuz you were black?" And I had to translate a complicated experience with prejudice into french?!? Of course, the other girls' stories were some charmed life cartoon shit (one girl said she teased once by some public high school kids because she was wearing a Catholic school uniform...yeah). I had been on my way to studying abroad and been taking all these advanced french classes but I was done after that, I was so tired of those white girls.
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