I can't believe we're still having this conversation in 2013.
Oh, wait. Yes I can.
For those of you who are as of yet blissfully unaware, Richard Cohen published an opinion piece on November 11 about Chris Christie, the Tea Party, and 2016 presidential prospects. That was all fine and good until he got to this gem of a paragraph:
"People with conventional views must suppress a gag reflex when considering the mayor-elect of New York - a white man married to a black woman and with two biracial children." Ah. Alrighty. So I guess every time one of the millions of bi- and multi-racial people in the country walks by a person with 'conventional' views, people just start gagging all over the place. Let's just ignore the facts that 86% of Americans support interracial marriage and that you have for some reason twisted 'conventional' to mean 'insanely racist'. People that actually marry and reproduce outside of their race are just unnatural. How dare they marry for love and not take into consideration what their partner looks like! Children who can't be easily categorized just make people sick!
"(Should I mention that Bill de Blasio's wife, Chirlane McCray, used to be a lesbian?)" No. No, you should not. Why? 1) "Used to be a lesbian" is not an insult in any way, shape, or form, as you clearly mean it to be here, and 2) that has nothing to do with her current marriage, her husband's ability to do his job as the mayor, or the point of your article titled "Christie's tea-party problem". At. All. That point is unnecessary, irrelevant, and it makes me wonder why you chose to include it - to place another nail in the coffin of your reputation, perhaps?
"To cultural conservatives, this doesn't look like their country at all." Yeah, don't you just wish we could go back to the good old days when it was illegal to stain a white family tree with a marriage to a black person? It's such a shame that people are slowly realizing that skin color doesn't have to determine their romantic partners.
Mr. Cohen, let me teach you something. You're probably unaware of this, since I highly doubt that you've ever been in an interracial relationship in your life, but those of us who have been are used to this kind of ignorant crap. People like you exist everywhere. How do I know? My family is a wonderful blend of Scotch-Irish, Native American, and black. All of my cousins on my mom's side of the family are biracial. We have all races in my family and everyone is loved - what they look like should not and does not matter. We're family. The end.
Then there's the fact that for two years of my life, I was in a relationship with a white guy - yes, the very relationship you say makes people with conventional views gag. Contrary to what you would probably expect, the majority of people did not care that our skin tones didn't match. Most people supported us! But then, of course, there's that pesky 14% of people who still refuse to believe that skin color doesn't have to be a factor in a relationship. I got used to double takes when we held hands, even from people who would have voiced their support if asked. I was prepared for the surprised, "Your boyfriend's white?!" I have heard every single variation of the jungle fever jokes and they are not funny.
Those were the easy reactions. I will never be able to explain how it feels to find out that people at your boyfriend's high school have been calling you racial slurs. And you will never know what it's like to have to face one of those people in public, look him in the eyes, and smile with all of the grace and poise you can muster because you are determined not to give him anything else to attack.
Interracial relationships have been getting hate since the dawn of racism. Your lovely piece of work is not the first to try to convince people that they should stay with a partner they 'match'. Let's not forget about the infamous Cheerios commercial that had to disable comments on its YouTube video because of the racism and anger that Cheerios had the nerve to feature an interracial couple. You're not the first. You're not new.
So those of us who have no issues with experiencing the world around us, the wonderful people who choose their partners based on a mutual love and respect and not off of the amount of melanin they have in their skin, the Bill de Blasios and Chirlene McCrays will all continue to love. We will continue to ignore the hateful comments of misguided people like you. And we will keep breaking down the barriers that you are trying so desperately to reconstruct.
Oh, wait. Yes I can.
For those of you who are as of yet blissfully unaware, Richard Cohen published an opinion piece on November 11 about Chris Christie, the Tea Party, and 2016 presidential prospects. That was all fine and good until he got to this gem of a paragraph:
"Today’s GOP is not racist, as Harry Belafonte alleged about the tea party, but it is deeply troubled — about the expansion of government, about immigration, about secularism, about the mainstreaming of what used to be the avant-garde. People with conventional views must repress a gag reflex when considering the mayor-elect of New York — a white man married to a black woman and with two biracial children. (Should I mention that Bill de Blasio’s wife, Chirlane McCray, used to be a lesbian?) This family represents the cultural changes that have enveloped parts — but not all — of America. To cultural conservatives, this doesn’t look like their country at all."
Thank you for confirming that I never want to read anything that has your name in the by-line.
"People with conventional views must suppress a gag reflex when considering the mayor-elect of New York - a white man married to a black woman and with two biracial children." Ah. Alrighty. So I guess every time one of the millions of bi- and multi-racial people in the country walks by a person with 'conventional' views, people just start gagging all over the place. Let's just ignore the facts that 86% of Americans support interracial marriage and that you have for some reason twisted 'conventional' to mean 'insanely racist'. People that actually marry and reproduce outside of their race are just unnatural. How dare they marry for love and not take into consideration what their partner looks like! Children who can't be easily categorized just make people sick!
 |
| THE HORROR |
"(Should I mention that Bill de Blasio's wife, Chirlane McCray, used to be a lesbian?)" No. No, you should not. Why? 1) "Used to be a lesbian" is not an insult in any way, shape, or form, as you clearly mean it to be here, and 2) that has nothing to do with her current marriage, her husband's ability to do his job as the mayor, or the point of your article titled "Christie's tea-party problem". At. All. That point is unnecessary, irrelevant, and it makes me wonder why you chose to include it - to place another nail in the coffin of your reputation, perhaps?
"To cultural conservatives, this doesn't look like their country at all." Yeah, don't you just wish we could go back to the good old days when it was illegal to stain a white family tree with a marriage to a black person? It's such a shame that people are slowly realizing that skin color doesn't have to determine their romantic partners.
Mr. Cohen, let me teach you something. You're probably unaware of this, since I highly doubt that you've ever been in an interracial relationship in your life, but those of us who have been are used to this kind of ignorant crap. People like you exist everywhere. How do I know? My family is a wonderful blend of Scotch-Irish, Native American, and black. All of my cousins on my mom's side of the family are biracial. We have all races in my family and everyone is loved - what they look like should not and does not matter. We're family. The end.
 |
| Wethers women rocking the multiracial look. |
Then there's the fact that for two years of my life, I was in a relationship with a white guy - yes, the very relationship you say makes people with conventional views gag. Contrary to what you would probably expect, the majority of people did not care that our skin tones didn't match. Most people supported us! But then, of course, there's that pesky 14% of people who still refuse to believe that skin color doesn't have to be a factor in a relationship. I got used to double takes when we held hands, even from people who would have voiced their support if asked. I was prepared for the surprised, "Your boyfriend's white?!" I have heard every single variation of the jungle fever jokes and they are not funny.
Those were the easy reactions. I will never be able to explain how it feels to find out that people at your boyfriend's high school have been calling you racial slurs. And you will never know what it's like to have to face one of those people in public, look him in the eyes, and smile with all of the grace and poise you can muster because you are determined not to give him anything else to attack.
Interracial relationships have been getting hate since the dawn of racism. Your lovely piece of work is not the first to try to convince people that they should stay with a partner they 'match'. Let's not forget about the infamous Cheerios commercial that had to disable comments on its YouTube video because of the racism and anger that Cheerios had the nerve to feature an interracial couple. You're not the first. You're not new.
So those of us who have no issues with experiencing the world around us, the wonderful people who choose their partners based on a mutual love and respect and not off of the amount of melanin they have in their skin, the Bill de Blasios and Chirlene McCrays will all continue to love. We will continue to ignore the hateful comments of misguided people like you. And we will keep breaking down the barriers that you are trying so desperately to reconstruct.
