High Life

Wednesday, 15th April 2009

Positive feelings

New York

I crossed the river last week and went into the heart of darkness. Unlike Conrad’s hero, it took me about 15 minutes by train, and there I was, right in the midst of a city bloated with squalor, oily storefronts, dilapidated tenements, vacant courtyards, and trash-strewn lots. I was the only white man in the station as I watched the arrest of a black hobo by two humongous black police officers. As the hobo was being led away, he screamed at me, ‘Give me a hundred dollars,’ and then broke up in hysterical, drunken laughter. It was three in the afternoon, and I had gone to Newark to watch my judo coach, Teimoc, compete in a ju-jitsu tournament, one from which he emerged a winner.

Walking up towards the site where the competition took place was an experience. I was, again, the only white man on the wide boulevard, lined with people going about their business, many just hanging out talking jive. Not for a second did I feel threatened. I made a point of asking directions from the toughies loitering about, and they obliged — mind you, after a glare or two; some were downright polite. In front of a derelict old cinema palace, I spotted a white guy, obviously down on his luck. ‘Got 75 cents so I can take the bus home?’ he ventured. He got a dollar for his trouble. Funny, I thought to myself, the only one to ask for money was a honky.

Something positive seems to be taking place in the long-running war between the races, at least around these parts. It’s the blacks who are coming round — whites came round 30 years or so ago — and no thanks to black leaders like the arch race hustler Al Sharpton, either. I’ve always believed that blacks have been let down by their leaders after civil rights were firmly established during the early Sixties. Rabble-rousers attempted to turn America into a total state of multiculturalism, preaching odious drivel about hate crimes, racist police and the natural preference for what is familiar over what is strange. The latter suited African–Americans, as it did whites. It still does, but I can feel a difference. Sure, everyone prefers their own kind, but there is less hostility and more understanding. One short visit to Newark, New Jersey, just across the Hudson River, convinced me.

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lauriemacdonell-sanchez

April 18th, 2009 10:23pm Report this comment

Well & truly put. I too have noticed a greater sense of calm, dignity & optimism among blacks--friends, co-workers, acquaintances & strangers alike. I pray that the new President decides to live up to the dignity & responsibility of the White House & decides to give his fellow blacks & fellow whites every reason to be proud of & look up to him.