It has been a month since the George Zimmerman verdict came down. I suppose it was impossible for everyone to feel that justice was served but I have been surprised at the polarization the ruling caused. From the insistence that race had nothing to do with the tragedy, that the trial was free of any such taint, that the jury selection was beyond understandable, that allowing television coverage added to the media circus which had been ongoing for months, that post-trial comments from the jurors added to the confusion . . . all of that is true. Opinions are all over the place, from one extreme to the other. Unfortunately, there will probably be yet additional trials so we are far from the end of this sad saga.
On several points there probably is some agreement. One would be that since the Brown v Board of Education decision in 1954 there has been progress in the area of racism. Equally apparent, although less frequently stated, we still have a long way to go and the Zimmerman case certainly highlights that. Racial stereotyping is, unfortunately, alive and perhaps this case accentuated our need to recognize it.
Stereotyping is not limited just to race but to lifestyles with which we may disagree, the statement implied by multiple tattoos and body piercings, disdain for the undereducated, for those with problems of addiction, among many others. Inclusion in any one of those groups can suffer from the “one size fits all” style of thinking.
Many who consider themselves liberated from such narrow-mindedness might be surprised to find that it still lurks in them, and not too far below the surface of consciousness. The hullabaloo about Paula Deen has made many ask a question and silently come up with an unpleasant answer.
I recently had an experience that demonstrated the shallowness of my convictions. In a deeply southern state, we found ourselves in a nicely appointed seafood restaurant. There were few patrons, which can be a cause for concern, but we were served promptly with courtesy followed by visits from the manager and the bartender to see if we were satisfied. We certainly were. I was seated with my back to the entrance when things took a drastic change.
In strode a group of eight African-Americans, four men, four women. Led by a man wearing a black and white mask, they were all dressed the same: Black jeans, black tee shirts with a silver pit bull painted on the back, “Nasty Dog” emblazoned over the drawing, and the men had chains around their necks, the links of which were the size of hot dogs. If there were metal they would have weighed 20 pounds or more.
As they passed our table one of the men said, “White boy in here.” They seated themselves at a table just behind us. We then realized that the entire staff and all of the other patrons were African-American. I felt intimidated and the waiter realized it. He came over and asked if we were all right, did we need anything. No, we were fine. Then the manager returned to our table and glancing at the now seated group asked if we would like to move to another table. Absolutely not, we said.
The meal was served and I had a full view of our neighbors. They ordered no alcohol, engaged in what appeared to be a civil conversation involving all members of the party and, despite their arresting appearance, seemed to be enjoying a Saturday evening on the town.
I was overcome with curiosity but could think of no way to find out who they were and what, if anything, was the statement they were making. We did the only sensible thing—we left our questions unasked. The fact that I even had questions and was concerned about what might be going down, showed that I was in a Zimmerman frame of mind. It made me realize that stereotyping had occurred, fed by their curious costumes but, nonetheless, I had made unwarranted assumptions.
I wish that I had had the presence of mind to ask the manager about them as I paid the bill. She had told us her day job she was a professor of public policy at the local state university. These may have been students, for all I know. My fear kept me from thinking of that until much later. In my defense, I would say had they been skinheads with swastikas instead of a pit bull on their shirts, I would have been equally concerned.
It’s out there—racism and stereotyping. I am sad to say that there’s still some of it left in me. The occasion will be used to work on that unsuspected problem.
Hayden Hollingsworth