We can't be scared to tackle race, running back or seniors
Wouldn't it be nice if blogs were delivered to your home on paper (wrapped in a weatherproof covering) so you could read them without firing up your laptop? Here are some random thoughts that I'd stick into a blog if I had one:
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Scary black folks? -- In my column last week about a Naperville man who had a positive experience at the "unabashedly black" and "unapologetically Christian" Trinity United Church of Christ, I almost cut comments he made about friends thinking he was "brave" for going somewhere (even a church) where he'd be a minority white face in a sea of black folks. That attitude seems so racist.
But that fear is a very common sentiment in much of our nation.
"I do find it funny, however, that whenever I go to Catholic or Lutheran services near my home, I'm usually one of five or six African-Americans in a congregation of hundreds. Never have I felt nervous or afraid," e-mailed one suburban reader. "Perhaps your next story should try to uncover why so many whites are uncomfortable when they're 'outnumbered,' while other races deal with those same circumstances on a daily basis with little or no anxiety. I'd love to know what this FEAR is all about, and what drives it."
It all has to do with long-held stereotypes that every element of society must work to overcome. I used to play basketball and pay visits to a housing project in Chicago where I was the only white person. People assumed I was a cop or a college basketball recruiter -- neither stereotype as harmful as those white people sometimes attribute to other minority groups.
But gays, Muslims, Jews, Christians, those with disabilities, Latinos, women, Italians, rural people, the elderly and nearly every group in America has some unfair blanket thrown over them at some point. The only way to defeat those stereotypes is to actively confront them.
Voicing those fears -- whether from a pulpit, in a political speech, in a newspaper column or in face-to-face conversations is the first step in overcoming them.
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Not scary to linebackers -- We don't know the whole story of Bears running back Cedric Benson's arrest in Texas, but I am surprised police had to use pepper spray to bring him down. In the NFL last season, Benson ran just 3.4 yards before going down easily.
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Senior Moments -- In an event that counters the stereotype of old people, the Provena Pine View Care Center in St. Charles is hosting its eighth annual Spring Training and T-Ball Game on May 15 for residents. The ballplayers' average age is 86.
"It's surprising just how competitive our residents are and how hard they work to do well at the game," reads the press release.
It doesn't surprise this AARP-eligible, former athletic competitor at all. I still can't leave a basketball hoop without making sure my last shot is a "swish." At age 90, my old columning partner Jack Mabley would use his cane to get to the tennis court, and still have the competitive juices to brag about that point he won at the net.
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Personal note -- Audrey Howard, one of the Daily Herald's most popular editors, died Sunday at age 47 after a yearlong battle against cancer. She was talented and nice, and will be missed. For information on cancer, visit the government's National Cancer Institute's Web site at www.cancer.gov or phone toll-free 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).