Have you ever had someone you respect open her mouth and thoroughly disappoint you?
In a recent discussion in one of my arting fora, someone started casting asparagus upon what she called PWT. That would be, Poor White Trash. She described a picture I’m sure most of us, in the US at least, would find familiar: a mobile home on small plot of land, rusted car/bed springs/refrigerator, dog tied out back, tatty American flag flying 24/7, etc. Now, I live in the epicenter of red-neckedness, so I can understand why those who were not native-born into the fold might look askance at those who were. That’s all well and good. It’s perfectly acceptable to look something over and say, “That’s not for me.” It’s a whole ‘nother kettle of fishes to stare down your nose at people who are poor, or uneducated, or who simply have a different value system than yours, and call them Trash. People are not trash, no matter what color they come in. Trash is expendable; people are not. Don’t delude yourself into thinking that, because you value your life or lifestyle more greatly than you do someone else’s, yours automatically has the higher intrinsic value. I can guarantee you that the Trash you’re disparaging value their lives every bit as much as you do yours.
The sad part is that the comment was made by someone I generally have a lot of respect for. I hate it when people disappoint me. I had a similar experience during a conversation with a friend, who is heavily involved in sex and sensuality education. There are certain things that go logically hand-in-hand, so when she made the comment–during a serious discussion–that “some people” shouldn’t be allowed to reproduce, it shocked me so seriously that I couldn’t even formulate a response. What do you say to someone who voices a belief that is in direct opposition to one of the basic tenets of her vocation? How can a rational person champion choice and respect and autonomy out of one side of her mouth and preach eugenics out of the other? The mind wobbles.
red paper boat 