Sunday afternoon.

Luckily no tornadoes yesterday. The sirens went off, but it was not too near us, luckily.  The girls both know how to tell where the bad spots are on the radar. They are so funny saying, "it's only yellow and a little red mommy, don't worry. No tormadoes." Tormadoes is how they say it.

Last night was fun. We met some of our neighbors. I escaped with only a very small bowl of chili and 1/2 a chocolate chip cookie. I had a few grapes for dessert. Everyone liked my whole wheat brownies. I have to admit they were tasty.  We watched "How to Train Your Dragon".  If you haven't seen this, you should it is very cute and funny.

We made it home by half time in the OU game.  Shoulda stayed at the party because it was an awful excuse for a football game. This is why I wanted to wait a few weeks to be ranked#1.  Just a huge bummer.

Cowboys don't play until Monday. I don't have a very good feeling about playing the Giants.  Today there are a few games on and I'll watch a bit of ball. I look forward to the Vikings vs Green Bay.

Earlier today we watched "The Express" which is the story of Ernie Davis, the first black athlete to win the Heisman.  It was a really good movie, but sad.  It's so painful to realize that the movie took place less than 50 years ago and the racism he dealt with and other black athletes dealt with was so rampant.   I just do not understand the mindset of treating another human being so badly just because of the color of their skin. It is sickening.  I am so glad that I was raised by a mother that taught me that color doesn't matter. She introduced me to diversity at an early age and it never entered my mind that the color of a person's skin should determine how you treat them.

It is disgusting to me that racism is still rampant although maybe less direct.  I am sad to say that there are racists in my own family. During the last election I had to tell some of them to stop sending me offensive emails. Disagree with his politics if you'd like, but do not include me in your racist jokes. 

I use movies like these to teach my children about how things were in our country and how wrong some people's beliefs are. It is important to teach your children the right way to treat people. They have to understand all parts of our history, not just what they teach in school.  And, we as parents teach by example.  Our children watch everything we do. They pick up on nuances in our tone or body language. If you have racist beliefs, you don't have to say them out loud for them to learn them. I was proud last week that when my daughter told me about her new friend named Jayden. She described her as funny with long hair.  It didn't occur to her to describe her as black and that made me really glad.


Sometimes my nearly 13 year old comes home and tells me jokes I think are rude and racist. He hears them from his friends. I stop and take the time to explain why these things are wrong.  Sometimes people think that if they mean it as a joke, it's no big deal.  Living in the south, you hear a lot of "that's just how I was raised" as an excuse. It is despicable.

The courage of those that led the way in the Civil Rights movement is beyond me. Some of them risked everything including their lives to change things.  They saw the injustice and stood up for what was right. It amazes me and makes me question myself. Could I have done that? Would I have done the same?  Standing up for what is right is hard.

I try to remind myself that you don't have to go on a march to make a difference. Being a good person, treating people fairly, teaching your children how to be fair minded.  Those things are so important in breaking the cycle of  racism.

And if you think that discrimination is over, I think you are fooling yourself.  It is more hidden now and luckily is becoming less. But it is out there. And not just on the basis of race. I think discrimination is wrong. All kinds including race, age, sexual orientation and religious beliefs.  Mankind has used these things to destroy each other forever. When will we learn?

And I ask myself, how can I make it better? Then I see my kids. Playing with kids of all colors, all religions, handicaps. They smile, they laugh. They do not shun people different from themselves. And I realize, I already have made it better.