IT’S ALL MY MOTHER’S FAULT

August 29, 2006 at 21:11 (Uncategorized)

Lately I have been getting allot of comments telling me how brave I am, how special I am for being so outspoken against the Israeli government…. while actually living in Israel. A few posts ago I explained why I am in Israel, it certainly is not to remain silent. I have always spoken out against injustice and will continue to do so until my last dying breath.
But why? What makes me different from most others?
If I am at a restaurant and someone sees the next table occupied by Arabs, I see that very same table occupied by people. If I am on a bus and a Black person gets on, I see a person getting on. I can go on and on with various examples, but the point remains, why do I see something or someone differently than others see it?
I must credit my parents for correct upbringing, it’s as simple as that. I too had my prejudices as a child, based out of ignorance. I was a pupil in an almost all white, all Jewish Public School. There was one Black student in my class…. he had terrible body odour. Most of the students shunned him and had nothing to do with him. One day he was absent and the teacher took the opportunity to explain to us why he smelled the way he did…. her explanation was that Black people were not as evolved or developed as White people and retained something similar to a stench gland identical to the ones found in skunks. It made perfect sense, and we were all taught by our parents to listen to and respect our teachers. When the student in question returned to school, the rest of us were much more understanding towards him and were friendlier, probably out of pity for his circumstances.
That was in 1954, President Eisenhower was in the White House. My mother was an activist in the PTA (Parent Teacher Association). They were involved at the time in organising a lobby to visit the President to urge him to desegregate schools in the south. My mother wanted me to go along…. until I explained to her why schools should remain segregated. She was shocked and wanted to know where I heard such nonsense… when I explained it was part of a lesson in school she became furious… not at me, but at my teacher. The teacher was disciplined as a result of this and the class was given a different lesson… one about washing ones body, keeping it clean, and personal hygiene in general…. it made allot more sense than the original lesson.
If my mother was not such an outspoken person against injustice, perhaps I wouldn’t be one either. It’s all upbringing.
Hatred is learned at home, so is tolerance and compassion.
Oh, by the way….. the PTA had its lobby to Washington and schools were desegregated that very same year. Silence leads to no change…
So, expect me to continue speaking out at everything I see wrong in a very wrong society… I owe that much to my mother.
I also have the thoughts of one of the most brilliant minds in our century to thank for my way of thinking, Albert Einstein. Throughout his long life he was a supporter of progressive causes as can be seen by reading the link provided HERE.
One of the most outstanding acts of his was merely the signing of a letter to the New York Times in December of 1948, condemning what he saw as the emergence of a fascist party in Israel. Bear in mind that just four years later he was asked to stand as President of the new State… an offer that he declined.
So, bottom line is my way of thinking is not necessarily brave or special, it is in line with some of the greatest Jewish minds of our time.