It's been a mixed bag, this holiday that I don't really celebrate.
In my huge, extended family, I am one of the oldest of my generation of cousins. The youngest of us is a sophomore in high school, and during family gatherings we tend to glomp together in one place, preferably one farthest away from the youngest generation, whose parents don't believe in discipline because it "stifles creativity." These children are BAD. When one of his aunts explained to little T. that she had been ill for the past week, he replied, "so? You didn't get it from me." This from a seven year old.
However, the worst behaved in terms of malicious ignorance is my uncle M., the father of two of the brats. Today, he approached one of my cousins (K., second youngest, senior in high school). He then proceeded to ask her what kinds of drugs she did at her prom. Yes, the question was posed earnestly. See, if you're my uncle, then you are infinitely wise and understand that black kids at inner-city schools do drugs (why, yes, that's sarcasm dripping off that sentence). My cousin is African-American (you could say "half" in front of that, but as percentages are almost always mixed and prejudice doesn't really care how many white relatives you have, this'll do for the sake of the story). She also attends an inner-city school. However, she is also a brilliant student, was just elected homecoming queen, and self-reports that she "doesn't do that stuff." But, you know, it's not like any of this, not to mention the fact that she's FAMILY, should overcome M.'s prejudiced worldview.
Later, M. sat between K. and my aunt's boyfriend G.. He then announces to the room, "I feel like an oreo." I know he didn't use the offensive term correctly, but what on earth would cause him to want to? Last I checked, we tried to shield our family from the general badness of the world. I don't know why I'm writing all of this, except that it's been the first time that the more ignorant of my family actually brought their issues into the family, and it hurts. The rest of the family is not idiotic. In fact, I generally love the way my family comes together when someone does something like this. K. just recently got an obviously "DWB" ticket, and hell, even ex-members of the family pulled strings to help out -- the judge not only threw out the ticket, but reamed out the cop in the courtroom. Today? I felt like we had a traitor amongst us. This shit is supposed to come from outside, man.
Not impressed, family. Not impressed.
In my huge, extended family, I am one of the oldest of my generation of cousins. The youngest of us is a sophomore in high school, and during family gatherings we tend to glomp together in one place, preferably one farthest away from the youngest generation, whose parents don't believe in discipline because it "stifles creativity." These children are BAD. When one of his aunts explained to little T. that she had been ill for the past week, he replied, "so? You didn't get it from me." This from a seven year old.
However, the worst behaved in terms of malicious ignorance is my uncle M., the father of two of the brats. Today, he approached one of my cousins (K., second youngest, senior in high school). He then proceeded to ask her what kinds of drugs she did at her prom. Yes, the question was posed earnestly. See, if you're my uncle, then you are infinitely wise and understand that black kids at inner-city schools do drugs (why, yes, that's sarcasm dripping off that sentence). My cousin is African-American (you could say "half" in front of that, but as percentages are almost always mixed and prejudice doesn't really care how many white relatives you have, this'll do for the sake of the story). She also attends an inner-city school. However, she is also a brilliant student, was just elected homecoming queen, and self-reports that she "doesn't do that stuff." But, you know, it's not like any of this, not to mention the fact that she's FAMILY, should overcome M.'s prejudiced worldview.
Later, M. sat between K. and my aunt's boyfriend G.. He then announces to the room, "I feel like an oreo." I know he didn't use the offensive term correctly, but what on earth would cause him to want to? Last I checked, we tried to shield our family from the general badness of the world. I don't know why I'm writing all of this, except that it's been the first time that the more ignorant of my family actually brought their issues into the family, and it hurts. The rest of the family is not idiotic. In fact, I generally love the way my family comes together when someone does something like this. K. just recently got an obviously "DWB" ticket, and hell, even ex-members of the family pulled strings to help out -- the judge not only threw out the ticket, but reamed out the cop in the courtroom. Today? I felt like we had a traitor amongst us. This shit is supposed to come from outside, man.
Not impressed, family. Not impressed.
posted by Turtle at 6:28 PM
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