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Racist family

Sucks big time. Fkn downer.
Adelaide 17/11/2009, Melbourne 20/11/2009, Sydney 22/11/2009, Melbourne (Big Day Out Festival) 24/01/2014
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I can only think of one time I had a family member exhibit obvious racism. A grand-aunt came to visit once (way back, like may 1965) and we took her to San Francisco. We were driving around down by the piers in an area that was mostly commercial back then and we passed a couple a black guys on the street. The grand-aunt, who was from a small Great Basin town, blurted out, "There sure are a lotta n*****s in this town." I began to question how this woman could actually be a blood relative of mine. We all just kind of froze except for my S.F. aunt, a prominent activist from the Haight Ashbury district and editor of a progressive neighborhood paper. She just kind of laughed it off and said, "Well we just call them 'people' here."
Yet they go church every Sunday. Fakes.
Unfortunately, I’ve seen it go the other way, too.
Being defeatist about it doesn’t really help, though, does it?
In family's
At work
Serving you at a restaurant
Pouring your beer at the bar
Playing for your favorite team
In a band
In the white house
In the Ten Club
Everywhere
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
There was an interesting news story just a few weeks ago about how Fox News infuences people's thinking and makes them more conservative (not all conservatives are racist, but bear with me). The story reminded me of my parents.
Growing up, famiy gatherings meant exposure to a steady stream of "n-----" jokes, followed by admonishments from my parents that such behavior was racist and unacceptable, and our extended family was embarrassing. After many years on a daily diet of Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, my parents weren't telling those jokes, but they were talking of moving to get away from "those people" -- "those people" being criminals, deadbeats, and dark-skinned -- and their own neighborhood being 100% white.
I think there's a life lesson for all of us in this: Be mindful of your media (and social media) consumption, maintain your powers of critical thinking as you age, don't let yourself get stuck in narrow ways.
I no longer spend time with people who behave that way, and I don't care if they are family or not. Life's just too short.