Thank you

[The Zanti Regent]

She who Must be Obeyed and I look forward to hearing from others!

[knowbody0]

1. you go first

[patdem]

2. Are you a scardy cat??

Well, I was born in 1949...of a frenchie dad and an irish mom. Raised in Catholic schools till 8th grade. (I hated Catholic school).

Born and raised in VA. the capital of the confederacy and grew up with MANY prejudices. I grew up in Norfolk VA and my father owned a Dry Cleaners and hired many blacks from a nearby neighborhood. The key here is that it was a nearby neighborhood. We had to have the business near a black neighborhood and we also lived by the plant, so I was able to hang out with all the kids in the black neighborhood!

My very first kiss was when I was about 5-6 years old (but I don't think I was in school yet) with a kid whom I hung around with in the neighborhood and we were in the candy store together one day and ended up in some bushes by the street and just kissed?? Who knows what we were thinking??

Fast forward 10 years...having schooled in prejudice...never thought I would ever date/marry/be friends with blacks??

Then in the late60's when at a tax preparer I saw a very beautiful white woman with a very hip looking black man (Jimmy Hendrix) and thought..I am so glad the 60's movement took care of all that prejudice that used to exist!?!

Moved to Rhode Island and had numerous friends including a very tall black man who dated a 4'10" white woman, and I asked him why he did not play basketball, and I was called a racist?? Can you imagine?? People from the north think us Virginians are racist??? I was SHOCKED.

Well I went on to marry a cowboy...and he and I were the MOST incompatible couple on the face of this earth...it lasted 2 years. Not that there is anything wrong with cowboys!

Then I met Eric, the most georgeous man on the face of the earth...his looks are not why I am with him today, but why I was attracted to him in the first place.

There are too many conversations to be had between us...so many old prejudices to put to bed and too many ways we need to frame the race issues!...as one poster said...'race is just a construct' yes and no it is a falacy...we are all of the human race...it is only culture, and how direct the rays of the sun shone while we evolved!!!