When I was in high school my mom sat me down and out of nowhere explained to me that it was okay to date or marry a black man but it was never okay to have children with him. She had some explanation about how the kid wouldn’t have a community they could be a part of but it basically boiled down to interracial relationships being wrong and bad and it was okay for adults to choose wrong and bad things it isn’t okay to inflict that on children. I think my mom wished she could take back her words in 2009 when I introduced her to my Jewish boyfriend because, while she still disapproved of the idea of interracial relationships, you can’t convert to black.
After some time to get used to the idea of Jewish in-laws she has really embraced the concept and seems perfectly fine with the idea that her granddaughter is half Jewish. She sends baby gifts labeled Happy Easter/Passover and Christmas/Hanukkah and asks a lot of questions to better understand Jewish customs and traditions.
In my elementary school in Ohio, we had a Scottish music teacher who spent half the year teaching us nine-year-olds militaristic anti-English songs. We started with “Men of Harlech”, which, despite being Welsh, was the tune of the high school fight song (go figure), so that was a good opening. We then went on to “Skye Boat Song”, “The Campbells are Coming”, and I can’t even remember what else (I still know those songs). I don’t know because we moved away mid-year, but I don’t doubt he then moved on to the Irish ones, “Patriot Games” and so forth. I have no idea what Mr. Carroll had done to the bloody English to cause him to be transported to the colonies, but too bad, it didn’t take. I never did learn to hate them myself.
On a more serious note, I was completely floored by a conversation just a couple of years ago with a Russian Jewish co-worker. We were just chatting about this and that, when suddenly and without lead-in Jacob asked me “Do you think the black races are taking over the world?”. I managed to extricate myself with some sentences about tribalism and group identification being innate in humans but that we as a species are slowly learning to overcome it (which I do believe), but our relationship stayed formal and work-related from then on. I was too astonished, and scared for that matter, to ask why he thought what he did - maybe I should have gone there.
My black brother in law was dating a indian woman for a long while, he one time explained that while he may be dating her he makes sure to use protection at all times. Not because they didn’t want a kid, because he didn’t want to mix his bloodline(his words). He had not told her this!
Apparently he got on kind of weird when my wife told him she was pregnant(her impression) why that would be a shock when we were married for six years before she got pregnant is beyond me(I wonder if he realizes we were using birth control just because we didn’t want a kid then). Sometimes I realize I probably don’t want to know what he is thinking.
They may have booked under the association’s name, which depending on what it is might have made some fool at the restaurant think it was some kind of controversial group(pro or anti abortion maybe?) that would be disruptive or something. Thats all I can think of.
How big is this group? “We’d like to know if your private room is available on Friday the 9th.” “It certainly is, madam, would you like to book it?” “Yes, the Associated Child-Punchers of Calgary would like to rent it for the evening.” “Madam! I think not!”
Back in the mid 90’s I was a manager for a multiplex that was opening in a small city in Missouri. One of the teens I had hired somehow found out that I was gay.
He marched right up to me and told me that he was just fine with the fact that I was gay, because he was taught at his church that he should hate the sin, but love the sinner.
That was the first time I had heard that, (but not the last unfortunately) but for once in my life I had the perfect reply come to me in the moment and not after the fact… I told him that this was a great philosophy to take into the world. I would have to agree that I hated his religion, but did love some members of it’s congregation… He stopped coming to work not too long after that exchange…