tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107151958453669111.post3758423969389183929..comments2024-03-28T14:45:34.423-04:00Comments on 37 Paddington: What their grandmother wished37paddingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12400464105403622384noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107151958453669111.post-40116635201667495162019-05-23T22:25:11.314-04:002019-05-23T22:25:11.314-04:00Since your blog is public again, I've removed ...Since your blog is public again, I've removed my comment above :)jenny_ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15475480579733466963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107151958453669111.post-63123806679427076822019-05-13T22:41:37.215-04:002019-05-13T22:41:37.215-04:00Thank you for opening up your blog again. When I d...Thank you for opening up your blog again. When I discovered it was private I was bummed. I like reading what you have to say. <br /><br />Your fears are valid. I hate it for you. I thought we, as a nation, were finally turning the corner of black/white hate. It's on both sides and I deal with it on a small basis every day that I work. I actually have it three fold. I am a white woman working in a man's world dealing with black and white men on a daily basis. It's not an easy one to navigate but for the most part I have done well. There are a few that still will not talk to me or give me the respect I give them, but you really can't please everyone all of the time. After 3 years and the rolling out of a system where drivers have to have a card with their name on it, it's a lot better. If you give respect, you get respect. Mostly...like I said, not everyone does. My findings are that it's about half white and half black of those who won't even acknowledge that I've said anything to them. And it's the same ones, day in day out. I greet them all the same every time I see them. And still. <br /><br />I grew up in upstate New York. Went to a school in which there were no blacks. When I moved to the south (FL) at the age of 12 I was sent to school in the black community and just didn't know what to think. I was accepting and curious but never did hate enter my mind because they were different than me. If you grow up with hate that's all you know. If you don't, like me, then it's hard to fathom why. I know why....but I don't understand why. Does that make sense?<br /><br />I wish nothing but the best for your loves. And wish that our world would try to turn that corner again and hate would go away. Chain Stitch Crochethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07865611172125103299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107151958453669111.post-85767543043787069482019-05-02T10:29:10.655-04:002019-05-02T10:29:10.655-04:00jenny, thank you for this vulnerable sharing of yo...jenny, thank you for this vulnerable sharing of your heart. In the end, love is love, and i tend to believe love is its own protective force. may our beloveds always be protected. 37paddingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12400464105403622384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107151958453669111.post-13841897585854370042019-05-01T14:38:20.110-04:002019-05-01T14:38:20.110-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.jenny_ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15475480579733466963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107151958453669111.post-73029745195613946882019-05-01T14:23:16.776-04:002019-05-01T14:23:16.776-04:00Oh, poor August. Poor little guy. I feel as if he ...Oh, poor August. Poor little guy. I feel as if he was channeling some of the world's injustice and couldn't understand what it was. And yes, I met someone definitely means I met The One. I know you have some sense of what I feel with your own son. Your family helps make our world a vastly better place. 37paddingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12400464105403622384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107151958453669111.post-23452541150160922292019-05-01T11:11:00.118-04:002019-05-01T11:11:00.118-04:00The other day August, who was bone tired, started ...The other day August, who was bone tired, started crying inconsolably. "What's wrong?" asked his mama. "What are your sad thoughts?"<br />And he wailed, "I am afraid I might have to go to jail someday!"<br />Now where did this come from? Who knows? <br />Jessie and I could hardly stop ourselves from laughing because...well, he's three. And the idea of him in jail was ridiculously absurd. Jessie said, "Don't worry, honey. You're not going to go to jail. We will teach you the laws so that you don't break them and then you'll never have to go to jail."<br />"What are the laws?" he asked. <br />"Well, the first one is not to kill anyone," his mama said. <br />He stopped crying for a moment and then he said, "But what if I toot and it kills all the people?"<br />Of course then we had to laugh. <br />"If I had that power, I'd use it daily," I said. <br />There was more reassurance and eventually he quit crying but when Jessie and I were talking later we both admitted that our first thoughts had been, "Boy! You're white! You don't have to worry about it." <br />I can't say that I understand exactly how you feel or your fears but I do know that I am aware of why you have them. And as the mother of a transgendered son, I read about the crimes committed against trans people and I have to just shut my mind down. So yes, I understand a little. <br />I see more and more couples of mixed race all the time, even here in the very deep south and they do make me feel a little more optimistic. Not enough that I would ever be complacent though. <br />Damn hate. <br />Damn ignorant hatred. <br />And on another, not very related topic- isn't it funny how that phrase, "I met someone" actually means, "I met the one"?<br />Try not to worry too much. This may not be reassuring but it's generally the thing we never see coming that causes the most difficulties. <br />Easy for me to say. <br />I love you. Ms. Moonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09776404747858099919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107151958453669111.post-88057524827021192952019-05-01T09:11:40.238-04:002019-05-01T09:11:40.238-04:00am, i love that thought, that my mother is continu...am, i love that thought, that my mother is continuing to watch over them from a fearless place. As for my honesty, i actually started this post a while back, but only found the courage to post it because my blog is now private, and (I think) only visited by loving souls. When the blog was public, I worried about attracting negativity to their lovely selves. So that's one perk of having gone private I guess. There are still many people who I miss, who don't come around much anymore, but then there is you, and the others here, and you are all my heart. Thank you.37paddingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12400464105403622384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107151958453669111.post-31036268218014493122019-04-30T20:49:52.359-04:002019-04-30T20:49:52.359-04:00Your honesty shows courage despite fear. My visio...Your honesty shows courage despite fear. My vision is of your mother, their grandmother, continuing to watch over them from that fearless place that I can only imagine. They are loving and loved. I can see that so clearly in your photo.amhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09212213177713917828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107151958453669111.post-4575942250784829352019-04-29T11:28:51.258-04:002019-04-29T11:28:51.258-04:00Dear robin, I believe your dreams are powerful, th...Dear robin, I believe your dreams are powerful, that our collective dreams for a better world can move the atoms, and begin to remake our reality. That and voting of course. Thank you, my friend. 37paddingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12400464105403622384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107151958453669111.post-26547770998677382242019-04-29T11:27:03.793-04:002019-04-29T11:27:03.793-04:00Sabine, i think sometimes I am too hung up on safe...Sabine, i think sometimes I am too hung up on safety, but I feel my babies have so much to give, so yes, I pray they will be safe, so they can walk whatever path it is they have dreamed for themselves. I love that you try. It is what we call have the power to do, though not enough do. Love. 37paddingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12400464105403622384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107151958453669111.post-86557308622034381532019-04-29T11:25:15.677-04:002019-04-29T11:25:15.677-04:00Lily, i too see elderly mixed race couples and I t...Lily, i too see elderly mixed race couples and I tip my hat to them. Lord knows it could not have been easy. There's not too much of an issue in NYC, but outside the city, I worry for my babies. This is our world, and we have to dream it better i suppose. Your consciousness helps.37paddingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12400464105403622384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107151958453669111.post-20378753199853711352019-04-29T11:23:38.048-04:002019-04-29T11:23:38.048-04:00Allison, i truly think that young people are less ...Allison, i truly think that young people are less hung up on these divisions, on the other hand, all these white supremacist shooters are young men, so maybe I'm in a bubble. I dont know. But i pray.37paddingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12400464105403622384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107151958453669111.post-57289575575438330362019-04-29T10:55:21.011-04:002019-04-29T10:55:21.011-04:00I thought after the 1960s, the Civil Rights Moveme...I thought after the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement, the marches, the integration of schools, that we would be long past this racial insanity. But a new and violent hatred has emerged, where white supremacists are deemed equally fine. These are not safe times, and I so understand your worries. I can only hope that we get past this insanity in 2020 and that your beautiful son and his beautiful partner will never have to feel unsafe. I wish we were all living in the world of my dreams.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107151958453669111.post-55959424613914974372019-04-29T05:07:31.041-04:002019-04-29T05:07:31.041-04:00This is the world we are living in. It infuriates ...This is the world we are living in. It infuriates me and it shames me because I am - like Allison said in her comment, white and elderly, and what should I have to fear. <br />But there it is, my loss of safety, of respect, should be as huge as yours, my anger should be so much, so intense that it will carry yours and more. I have failed so often, but believe me, I will continue to try.Sabinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09015827501648296977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107151958453669111.post-51963350760468573782019-04-28T22:20:40.628-04:002019-04-28T22:20:40.628-04:00It's so sad that this is still an issue in thi...It's so sad that this is still an issue in this day and age. I have much older mixed race couples sometimes as patients and I'm always so impressed by their courage. It can't have been easy in the 1940's to marry someone of another race. But this is 2019, it shouldn't be so hard but I understand your fears. There is so much ugliness in the world right now, a feeling of us and them instead of just us. My life so farhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16721270441968035994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9107151958453669111.post-20660185527381771492019-04-28T20:10:27.809-04:002019-04-28T20:10:27.809-04:00These are very reasonable fears. The hate and vit...These are very reasonable fears. The hate and vitriol spewed by that man on every possible occasion has whipped up a level of craziness that is unbelievable. I've been thinking about white privilege a lot lately and how much the whole system has failed so many people. I go about my day and don't have to worry about being pulled over the way the hispanic people do in Tucson and at border checkpoints. I'm golden because I'm white. I'm also elderly, so I'm not every perceived as a threat; the unfairness of it all is just unspeakable.Allisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02475433199308666648noreply@blogger.com