Attending a local social event, my husband and I were invited to sit with two lovely ladies. After we introduced ourselves, we began to talk. At first it was “small talk.” About ten minutes later a man approached looking for a place to sit. Since we had an extra chair at our table we invited him to sit with us.
He declined, saying he didn’t want to sit with “the help.” He turned around and left the building. We were a bit shocked at his audacity and we just looked at one another. Obviously, none of us thought of ourselves as “help” and we weren’t sure of what he meant. However, while my husband and I are white, those two gracious ladies were Hispanic.
When one of the ladies spoke, she remembered another incident where she had been treated badly and it was because she was Mexican- American; the man who bullied her told her it was because she has brown skin and a Spanish surname.
That led to a discussion on race and intolerance. I shared my experiences. I told them I had been bullied as a child because of my bad eyes and well remember the pain of those situations; therefore, I, too, hated the prejudice and bigotry of so many others.
As a long time animal lover and raiser, I used my standard analogies: When one dog meets another, it does not recognize the differences; it sees the similarities. So, when a Pomeranian meets a Doberman, it doesn’t see anything but another dog. And they will run together as a pack.
Horses are the same way; when a horse meets another horse, he doesn’t know about breeds or colors. Be it a pony or a large draft animal, be it a bay or palomino or a chestnut or an appaloosa, each one just sees another horse. And they will all run together as a herd.
So, my question is: Why can’t we humans be more like the animals? Why can’t we see the similarities and just view each other as other human beings? Why can’t we “run together,” and just get along?
I told those gracious ladies I didn’t care if they were purple with pink polka dots! They are fellow human beings and I am pleased to associate with them. They chuckled at that description and we continued a lovely conversation about many things
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