Intelligence versus Ignorance

Original Air Date: 08.29.04
Opening Song: "Kiss Me" - Melissa Etheridge

Saturday night I received a phone call that went a little something like this: "James?" "Hello." "James?" "Hi" "Hello..." "Who is this?!" "It's Amber. So, are you busy tomorrow from 9AM to noon?" "I'd be working. What else could I be doing tomorrow?" "Auto Zone is going to give the Marching Band a $250 donation if we clean up the flower bed." "I'll probably be there." "Thanks."

Committed to my band buddies, I decided to take a day off from work only to discover this project was a lot harder than I was led to believe. The flower bed was actually three highway median-sized fields of ragweed and wild flowers, not to mention a ton of beer bottles, cigarette packs, and lighters. It was back-breaking work-- pulling weeds and roots out of the ground by hand; plus, it was over 85 degrees outside, so everyone was covered in sweat among other things.

During the break I had a most disturbing conversation with Amber's mom and the Pom Squad's new coach, Mrs. Thompson. She brought up the murder of Jamahl Jones, a young black man (age 17) who was beaten to death by a group of white guys. The four white suspects were released without any punishment; this pissed EVERYONE off. Mrs. Thompson said that it was a racial thing, that those people weren't happy with interracial dating. What she said next really hit a nerve.

She said that black men prefer dating white women because frankly, all the black women around here are "nasty." That is BULLSHIT with a capital B! Who is she to tell me, a black man, how my own mind works and my motives for certain actions? The truth is a lot of girls, in general, have bad attitudes and act foolishly. I've dated a white girl; I've had a black girlfriend as well. Out of roughly 1500 students in our school, only 50 of them are female minorities (Black, Korean, Hawaiian, Native American, etc.) and less than twelve of them are seniors. I'm great friends with half of them, all of them good-natured, intelligent, beautiful women (Janelle, Destiny, Carlise, Trish, Crystal, and Jazmine). To sum up, I didn't realize that even adults around here think they understand us and make bullshit generalizations about us.

Later, things just got even better. The other kids were playing around with some poisonous red berries, and wild plants... I noticed I had an allergic reaction from being scratched while pulling a huge weed out of the ground. After I said something, Amber's mom found a ring-shaped rash on her arm and told everyone to check their arms for the mark, everyone had gross red marks but me. Mass hysteria broke out and "Howard the Cub Scout " wasn't helping matters. He was like the freakin' Crypt Keeper, telling all the girls about the consequences of scratching and how they were going to feel it tomorrow (the first day of school).

Speaking of the first day of school, as soon as I got home from that Community Service Project, I hopped into the shower and washed off the dirt and all the stupid opinions that Amber's mom shared with me. While I was in there, I did a little manscaping (on the chest, abdomen, and pits) to prepare for tomorrow.

What have I learned from today's experiences? Ignorance must be bliss; the truth is a hell of a lot harder to swallow because once you've gained the knowledge, you're infuriated by the naivety of those around you. As much as we want to think that the whole nation is steadily moving forward and everyone is learning to peacefully co-exist, there are tons of people who, by sharing their close-minded opinions, set the Civil Rights Movement back twenty years. I also learned that certain stereotypes can be positive. Isn't it funny how everyone but the black guy decided that poison berries would fun to throw at each other? What are the odds?