TO: YOU, LADY
FROM: Me, Tanita
I know you want to argue that what you said wasn’t racist. NO. We are not doing that.
I wasted HOURS this weekend wondering how I should have responded to your comments, hours wondering if I had somehow inadvertently created an atmosphere that felt safe and comfortable for your inimical remarks. I agonized on how I should have worded my push back, crafted a five-page letter explaining and discussing with imaginary you how what you said was distasteful and discouraging.
And yet, I doubt you thought about your throwaway comment ONCE. As Toni Morrison said, ” the very serious function of racism is distraction.”
How deeply I resent you for wasting my time – in the sanctuary, no less. Please do me the courtesy of never speaking to me again. No, seriously, please.
Be blessed, as I wish every person to be, but also? Be far, SO very, very far away from me.
Let there be spaces in our togetherness that last for miles.
I’m getting a totally different vibe off these two pieces. You did a great job jumping off from that first line.
Sorry you had this experience, particularly at church. But that’s a great…Poem? Prayer? Thought? you ended with. I’m going to write it down. With proper attribution, of course.
And look! I was able to log in so I could post!
@Gail: The prayer, such as it is, is based on a quote by the fabulous Khalil Gibran from his book, THE PROPHET, to which I should have given correct attribution!
“Let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.”