DadUm hm.
Hey Dad. Um. Um. There's this girl ... in my school ... her name is Kyra and
(interrupting)
How she look?
Huh?
You heard me man. How she look?
(smiles, looks away)
I don't know! She's just my friend.
I aint ask you all that. I asked you how she look.
(smiles)
I don't know! Dad. But listen dad! Listen.
... I am listening. I'm listening for the part you going to tell me what this girl looks like. She supposed to be your "friend". But you don't even know what she look like. She cute? I don't want to hear no stories 'bout no booga bears. She got pretty teeth? Because I don't want to see no girls around here with no jacked up grills. (he and his brother bust out laughing) Come on man. She smart? Can she read books? Fess up. Black girl? White girl? One of them pretty little KOrean girls? What?
Um. Um. (laughs) I don't know! She's mixed.
(silence ......)
Mixed? ... Mixed? What the hell does that mean? How can a human being be "mixed"?
Um. Um. You know what I mean Dad. She's half Buddhist and Half Jewish.
(silence ......)
What?
No. For real Dad. Her mother is Buddhist and her dad is Jewish. She told me. For real.
(silence ....)
Man. That's ridiculous.
Why? It's true. For real Dad. You can ask Hakim. She's in our class.
(takes long ... dramatic breath .... )
Son. "Buddhism" is not an Identity. "Jewish" is not an identity. Those are things you do. Not who you are. You practice Buddhism. You practice Judaism.
See how them schools got ya'll jacked up?
For example: Your mother does Yoga. Your father plays golf. Does that make you Half Yoga and Half Golf?
(silence ...)
(he and his brother bust out laughing)
DV 1 Plantation 0
8 comments:
LOOOVE this convo. Kid talks like this are the real front lines.
DV- I remember back when I was in school, we had to do those stupid little family tree type reports, and we had to discuss our "ethnicity"..... now my school was basically made up up Italian kids and EUROPEAN Jews. So, when it came time to talk about our "ethnicity" there were a lot of "Italians", a few "Irish" and the ocassiohal "Korean" thrown in. Then, the majority of students claimed their "ethnicity" as "Jewish". So, when I tried to say that "Jewish" was a religion, not an "ethnicity", I was chastised by the teacher, who told me that because of all of the horrors Jewish people have gone through over the years, they're religion is synonymous with their "ethnicity", no matter how varied their actual cultural backgrounds are.
I don't know, ever since then, I cringe at the label of "jewish" as a racial or ethnic identity, and particularly get squeamish when I hear the accusation of anti-semitism thrown around by a population of Jewish people who are so unrelated to the Semitic it is ridiculous.
And, I have no idea why I just told that story, as it is really rather unrelated, but that is what happens when I am sleepy.
I thought you'd have comments by now about that dude who shot the Johns Hopkins doctor...especially since it turned out the shooter was a black man (and shot dead by SWAT).
Dude!
What's up my man?
lol. You aint lying.
"the real front lines"
wow.
Exactly.
JoJo!
lol. Maaaaaaaaan you messing with a big can of worms there.
People ... who are not Jews ... calling themselves Jews ... has been something of an issue throughout the ages.
I believe Jesus of Nazareth said something about it.
Some black men decide to call themselves 'Moors' and Negros roll their eyes and guffaw. Some eastern Europeans call themselves "the" Jews and the same Negros are Hat-In-Hand.
"Yussuh! Yuse Sho Iz Da Jooos!"
DMG!!!!
My man!
Nah brah.
Just saw this.
Half my family was born at Johns Hopkins.
Been on my mind all day.
How was Europe?
You catch up with Kay Dub?
How was Sweden? Always one of my favorite spots.
How was the conference?
What ya'll talk about?
Let me guess ... um .... DRUGS?!
Cancer?!
A new vaccine to inject into fetuses while still in the womb?
lol.
nah man.
messing with you.
Nah, I didn't catch up with KW. But I had a great trip, just got back last night.
Stockholm was always nice as always. Hung out with some friends in Aarhus, Denmark (beautiful little city, if you get a chance check it out in summer). Stayed right in Trafalgar Square when I got back to London. Then went to Florence and Pisa. Let me hip you to a spot then next time you are in Florence "IL Latini" on via dei Palchetti. Don't miss it. Forget the menu, we never saw one. Our waiter spent some time in Chicago, and hooked us up. Three and a half hours of eating, 4 people, two bottles of wine and alot of food cost us 170Euros.
Actually, I was doing a project on heart lung bypass and trauma. Went well. Got a 5 figure grant for the project.
"Some black men decide to call themselves 'Moors' and Negros roll their eyes and guffaw. Some eastern Europeans call themselves "the" Jews and the same Negros are Hat-In-Hand" -DV
So true, as we of course see how it manifests itself on this site time and time again. Brothers creative enough to even consider the possibility by rejecting this "ex-slave saved from the savagery of the jungles of Africa" bullshit and are clowned because they can't provide proof through their lineage. As Joanna said, these converts to Judaism from all over the world other than Israel (true Hebrew Israelites) get a pass because of what they supposedly went through and have the absurdity to spill blood making a claim on land they've never stepped foot on...
...as if Black people here and all over the world haven't gone through anything.
...as if the Cambodians under Pol Pot didn't go through anything.
...as if the people in Sri Lanka in the Tamil/Sinhalese conflict didn't go through anything.
...as if the countless other victims of atrocities around the planet didn't go through anything.
"Yussuh! Yuse Sho Iz Da Jooos!"
LOL! Aw man, that's hilarious.
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