Note: this post attempts to show that racism is alive and well in Warren, Pennsylvania. It is disgusting and uncalled for. The statements made by a certain individual made me ill. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. ~Jason
So, my cousin is dating an African-American gentleman. According to some, he calls himself “Ant,” short for Anthony, as only that type of people would do. That was the first racist statement of the day. Next came a diatribe of just some of the most horrible statements these ears have heard. It went something along the lines of that my cousin (female) could have “half” babies and that it isn’t fair to raise children who are “half black.” Love transcends all barriers and honestly, WHO CARES! I guess if you’ve only ever lived in one very small town in Pennsylvania your entire life, you haven’t seen how people live in mixed-ethnic arenas. People hear during these protracted Presidential election cycles about racial issues in the country. I think they’re more prevalent than any of us believe. It’s not just occurring in the Deep South, but in tiny towns all over America.
What can WE learn from this? I believe that homophobia and racism run hand-in-hand. They both deal with ignorant people who don’t understand the sexual orientation and the color of one’s skin doesn’t make them outcasts.
I do admit that I suffered “color shock” when I moved out to Long Island. I had spent my whole life in an entirely white, European origin town. It shouldn’t have been a shock, but was. It was like that first time stepping into a gay bar and saying, “What the fuck!?” Eventually I shed my racist upbringing and learned to tolerate, then understand people of other races. There ain’t much that makes us difference… just some melanin. Give it up. At a bare minimum tolerate those who are superficially different than you. Merry Christmas!
Jason L. Cable, 12/24
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1 response so far ↓
Yes, Warren is still quite intolerant, of many things. (Before you question my knowledge, I’ll cut to the chase and out myself as Susan Wentworth from WAHS Class of ‘98.. if you’ve ever heard of me, that is).
I still live here and I see the struggle between the old school Republican Bureaucrat Curmudgeons and the Fresh new generation making a squeak on “Impact Warren”. I watch painfully as a new era of residents seeps into the city barriers and (in the older generation’s eyes) attempts to overthrow the empire of Old Warren. There is a bit of that ‘color shock’ right in the heart of Warren when long-time residents spy a ‘different’ resident and wonder how they got in or what they want with ‘our town’ and it makes my stomach churn.
I for one am happy to see the changes, the shift from dominantly white to pleasant balance, but I suspect this will take a decade or more to dissolve the hardened mindset of our beloved little small town.
Heck… Warren is behind on everything. I’ve only had broadband available for about a year where I live.. and I’m not that far out of town.