Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly  My heart is so broken to be labeled as sounding prejudiced, maybe I need to tell you a bit about myself. For the last 3 years, all of my monthly charitable contributions - 100% - have gone to an organization that builds schools and digs water wells for babies in South Africa. When I worked for the medical group before I retired, in clearing our patients for total joint surgery, I found a few of our older black women, those in their 70's & 80's, were fearful of going for their mammograms and for their OB/GYN check-ups & PAP smears and no amount of talking to some of them would change their minds. I finally started offering to take them to their appointments and that usually did the trick. I would take off work and take those ladies to their OB/GYN PAP's and pelvic exams and go with most of them into the exam room when many were so frightened and then we'd go on for the mammogram screening, either that or another day. They just needed someone who understood their fear and to hold their hands to help them get past it. Many hadn't been for those exams in so long, they were scared they might have cancer & it just paralyzed them to break down and go alone. Having someone go with them gave them courage. I almost lost my job as office manager when I fought the doctors to hire our first black employee in 25 years. They feared it would hurt their largely carriage-trade business, I guess, though that was not the reason they gave verbally. The discussions got grim. I made a deal with them & hired her anyway as she had that passion in her eyes for caring for people and a loving heart. She was a gifted worker. As a collector of teddy bears and dolls, I love toys so I couldn't stand little children at Christmas in a neighborhood I knew about not having much at all so, even after I became disabled, I would load up the car with dolls and teddies and other toys for boys and drive on Christmas Eve day to a particular well-known "drug" neighborhood down near Baylor Hospital that most of us employees drove through to get to the highway to the suburbs and I would pass out toys to the little black children whose parents would permit them to take them. And all would allow it that would come to the door. To those whose parents weren't home, they still got toys. The older black ladies who lived alone in the tiny one or two-room homes in that neighborhood and who would open the door, I asked for permission to give a gift of money throughout the year as I could afford it. But each Christmas Eve was one of the best days of my year seeing the smiles from those little babies who had so little and were suffering so much in the lifestyles of their parents. I couldn't help them in any other way right then but as little as it was, I did what I personally could to brighten their Christmas. I know I could have done more, but as a single woman I did my best. Probably most of you here do far more cause, money & time-wise than I can. I would never ordinarily mention things like this, but when one is said to sound prejudiced on a public forum that anyone can read, and as some of you know my name & where I live, the somewhat public figure I work for part-time, besides being so personally painful, I feel I have to share what some might say are indications I am not at all as even obliquely suggested. Where I work now part-time, most of our patients are black professional athletes in Major League Baseball and I love those kids dearly. I felt on this forum I would not be indirectly questioned publicly as to possible racial bias since I didn't express hateful or ugly racial comments and only asked questions and made comparisons about why all black babies killed as teens or even old ladies aren't mourned and focused on with equal pain and wondering why we all don't want to wait to judge before the trial. And knowing how I've lived and the posts I made on this and all threads I've posted on, I cannot accept that I sound prejudiced against any person of color. My heart has always gone out to their causes, their deprivation and pain, their sweet hearts, kind ways, strong faith and I have never behaved in a prejudiced manner or had prejudiced thoughts toward even one of them in my whole life. I've put my love, time, prayers and money to work to help as I personally could. If I sounded prejudiced to anyone, including Nancy, I apologize and apologize further for not sharing more of myself along with my questions so you could know my heart and I would, had I thought for one moment it would turn out as it did. I really do love you all and love this forum where we can openly discuss issues and exchange ideas and questions on issues other than dogs occasionally. |