I am 72. I grew up in the 50's and 60's. I don't recall everything I did in my life, but I do

remember when us boys got together we did and said racist things. We never heard the word racist then or even understood the concept. I know today my dad was a racist. I learned that in my teens. I was learning.

Until I entered school and probably not until 4th or 5th grade did I ever hear or was ever told that what my dad did and we imitated was wrong. I don't recall it made much of a change in our behavior.

I remember nuns leading a discussion about the feelings of white people toward black people or Negros back then.

I don't remember any moral judgments being made.

We had simply never interacted with black people socially. Dayton Ohio where I lived was a segregated town. West of Main St was black and east of it was white.

I did love to run out and watch the garbage men on their big truck. I told my parents that I wanted to be a garbage man when I grew up. They got me a Tonka metal garbage truck when I had my tonsils out.

I didn't know anything about those men's lives. I didn't imagine that they had families just like I had. They were just these guys from far away who came by once a week to dump our garbage into their truck.

A black family was going to move on to our block. The neighbors tried to raise enough money to buy the house. My dad did not give because we were poor. Our house got egged for it.

He was a low factory worker and needed someone to look down on. He was the guy Johnson talked about.

edit:
Going to bed at night in my teens I fell to sleep to the Motown Sound every night. It is still my favorite music.

I loved going to James Brown concerts with a black female co worker. Usually I was the only white person. They did shine the spotlight on me when it came time to give bicycles away. My co worker said it would not be safe for me to go alone. The boys did not like it at all.



I am going to post what I said yesterday about reparations in response to this OP

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1187&pid=66768

I am ok with reparations if the money goes to improving the chances for a decent life.


It was not only slavery but the years that came after also. Jim crow and segregation are also reasons for reparations.
You can't pay back those who have suffered and died but you can see to it that their decedents have positive outcomes.


Yes I am a 72 year old white man who lived through segregation and realized as a child I had it better that black children my age.

As a kid I saw poor black kids when we went to the black side of town to get my dad's car fixed. We would just stand there and stare at each other.

Their clothes were so old and worn. I wondered why is was. I never thought it was their fault.

I knew instinctively those children didn't have the chances I did.

I would ride my bicycle to the west side. That was the segregated black neighborhood of Dayton, Ohio, to learn more about the scene there. My folks never knew. They would punish me if they ever found out.

In Catholic High school (Chaminade) we studied the causes of poverty in America. Some of us made a trip to Columbus Georgia in 1964 as a senior field trip.

We met with black kids our age and learned that they were not permitted to cross the bridge into down town to see a movie unless they were accompanied by a white person.

One of their best outcomes was to move to Detroit and make it big in the Motown music scene. One of the girls had a sister that did.

When I got home I received a letter from Mary Peaches Jackson asking me to come back and bring her up north.


Do I believe we owe those kids a debt. Your damned sure I do. They won't get it but their grand kids will.



I still think the Governor did not do anything serious enough to resign.