Fickle

Yet again I bring you “not verified news but an interesting tweet”. It’s timely, it’s local, and it’s something to think about.

Just because a Asian lady is wearing a mask DOES NOT MEAN she has the #Coronavirus
SHAME ON the people who verbally assaulted her inside the grocery store in Howard County #Maryland this morning.   SAD

Seeing this made me think about how fickle acceptance is in our white-centered culture.

It wasn’t that long ago that Asian parents were being heralded as valued members of the anti-redistricting coalition. Their presence amongst the opposition was used as “proof” that the groups were multi-ethnic and not racist.

Could it be that the coronavirus might be the thing that comes along and destroys all that multi ethnic, non-racist solidarity? Is that how shallow our cross-cultural connections are in Howard County?

When one is not considered “white” in a white-centric culture, acceptance is hard to come by and there is no assurance of keeping it once granted. One day you are inside the circle, the next you are not. Anyone who is white has the power to extend that golden ticket. You can do everything in your power to “earn” it but it is truly not a thing to be earned. It will never be more than a capricious and demeaning obstacle course, repeated daily.

There is no end.

Some folks wonder why I continue to write about issues of race. This is why. One day you are a valued member of a community group and the next you are nothing but an outsider carrying a disease.

“Look! Non-white people agree with us!”
“Beware! Non-white people will infect us!”

I can’t imagine how that would feel, to have worked so hard for acceptance only to be quickly tossed away like something dirty and perhaps even malevolent.

A certain troll on the County Executive’s Facebook page keeps telling him there is no prejudice and racism in Howard County, accusing him of making it up for nefarious political purposes. There's no need for him to make it up because, sadly, there are people in Howard County who are living and breathing and thinking and acting within the confines of systemic racism every day.

No one deserves to be treated like this. I hope that this kind of incident does not become an accepted way for people to deal with their fears of a little-known illness.

And, while I have you here: get a flu shot.