The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.
PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
Today, as this week’s Friday Fictioneers airs, it’s June 19th. In the States it’s Juneteenth, a Federal Holiday to celebrate and commemorate the ending of slavery in America. I hope my piece doesn’t sound defensive, although at the time, I was hurt by my friend’s barbs.
Genre: Memoir
Word Count: 100
IN BLACK AND WHITE
A while back, a fellow artist and I met for coffee. In the midst of the conversation, I said something my African American friend perceived as racist.
He frowned saying, “You white people say you don’t see color when you really do.”
His comments hurt, sending me on a soul-searching expedition.
He was partly correct in his assessment. The fact is, I do see a person’s skin color, as well as eye color and physique. I am a visual artist, after all. What I wanted to tell him is that I appreciate the brilliant rainbow the Ultimate Artist has created.
Here I am with some delightful friends in Israel. I’m glad they didn’t have a problem with short people. 😉
If only we could see how alike we all are.
****
And now for some shameless publicity 😉 This coming Sunday is my official Book Launch.
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple 
Thought-provoking, Rochelle. Racism isn’t just a matter of what we feel, but also of where we sit
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Dear Neil,
These days racism seems to be in the eyes of the beholder. Like tap dancing through a minefield.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Just this morning a thought nudged me and said, “If you are living in privilege you cannot see that you are, it kind of blinds you.” My first reaction was disbelief but now I’m beginning to think there might be some truth in it.
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Dear Joy,
I’ll admit to living in privilege. The irony of my story is the gentleman had grown up in a very privileged environment himself. More so than I. Nonetheless I did feel the need to check my own heart. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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That’s an interesting point you raise, Rochelle. If someone were to call you “shrimpy” … a feature I share, BTW … wouldn’t that be perceived as derogatory, pejorative? We are a society that must choose our words very carefully, even among those we consider friends.
Your story is food for thought.
Peace
🕊️
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Dear Nancy,
Not that I discount bigotry and racism. I abhor them, but we’ve become a society of eggshell walkers. Oh yes, I’ve been called shrimp, smallfry, shortstuff. No problem. I am short. I get teased about my curly hair.
Thank you for your kind and thoughtful comments.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Good luck with the launch. Will it be available on Amazon?
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Dear Trish,
Will be and is available. Here’s the link to the Australian Amazon site. Than you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle,
Words, wonderful words, can turn into not so wonderful words. Interpretation of such can leave us surprised, stunned, hurt, awakened.
It has become a friggen landfield this trying not to offend anyone.
Nicely done, my friend.
Shalom and lotsa colourful love,
Dale
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Dear Dale,
Great minds think alike. Before I read your comment I likened it to tap dancing through a minefield.
I was totally blindsided by this friend. He voiced his fascination with my being Jewish. We shared our art. I didn’t consider what I said to be so much racism as appreciative observance. Yes, I was stunned, hurt and angry.
And…his upbringing was way more privileged than mine.
Needless to say, the friendship has become an occasional ‘hi, how are you?’
Thank you for your reading and commenting.
Shalom and lotsa colourful hugs,
Rochelle
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Haha! GMTA. It is, though.
I keep thinking of the fabulous book you wrote and the publishers are too chicken-shit to publish. Cultural appropriation, racism, etc. Bloody hell. What is a writer supposed to do? Never any research? Never learn about others?
He was an ass. I don’t blame you for keeping it civil and not going a step further.
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There is much for people of all colours to think about these days. Personally, a conversation that starts with either ‘you white people’ or ‘you black people’ fills me with dismay. There’s more to all of us than that.
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Dear Sandra,
I agree. And must admit that his crack caught me off guard. I thought there was more to our friendship than that. The man is an incredible artist and actually grew up in much more privileged home than I.
Thank you for reading and commenting.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I watched part of an interview in which Morgan Freeman, one of my most highly respected actors, declared his distaste for Black History Month. His point: He is American. Being Black is not how he introduces himself. Do we have a White History Month? The interviewer stated that he, himself was a Jew. Freeman’s response: “When is your Jewish History Month?” A bit taken aback, the interviewer asked, “But how are we going to get rid of racism?” Freeman’s simple response was, “Stop talking about it!”
Wise words from a man who has lived long enough to experience prejudice, the fight to move up in a white world, and who seems to hold no bitterness about any of it.
Anyway. Many congratulations on your book launch. I’m thrilled to pieces for you, and feel quite honored to have been a small part of the project 🙂
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Dear Linda,
“Just stop talking about it.” Brilliant from one of the best. I’m a bigger fan now than I was before. Than you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Oh yes, I feel your pain. I’ve always been so convinced that being racist is something I’d never be. Until I was called it by POC. It was a wake-up call and it dawned on me how much our upbringing raises prejudices in us that we’re not even aware of. All of us. But some groups of people have suffered more than others and as a white, privileged person I found that ‘my’ group just has to endure the anger and being told off without retaliating with ‘but there is racism against white people too’. There can be no whataboutism.
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Dear Gabi,
Our upbringing does have a lot to do with prejudice. Many have to unlearn. As I’ve said before, if we could realize how alike we are perhaps the differences would fade away. In a perfect world…sigh. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Something to make me think, Rochelle!
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So glad. Thank you, Rosemary. Sorry for the very tardy reply.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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The most aggravating thing is that unless someone questions it, color and gender and all that don’t cross many peoples’ lives….Until it does. Why can’t we all just be “people”?
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Dear Stine,
It is a pity we can’t just see the person for what they are and not get hung up on the rest. So much to appreciate in each other. Thank you for your sweet comment and well wishes on the book.
A late shalom,
Rochelle
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https://christinebialczak.com/2024/06/19/getting-caught-up-friday-fictioneers/
Good luck with your book!
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Evocative, and I’m glad your friend felt safe enough to tell you the truth about his feelings. Feelings aren’t “right” or “wrong,” they are. It is what your friend was feeling from what you said. I’m glad it got you to thinking and looking deeper within yourself.
Similar to racism, patriarchy, and other institutionalized cultural frameworks that set up an “us” and “them” dynamic, are pushed on everyone by the powermongers to try and keep themselves in control of others. It’s a battle that one must be ever-vigilant to resist, in thought, word, and deed.
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Dear Lisa,
Thank you for such a comprehensive comment. Much to think about there, too. Sorry this is late in coming back.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Rochelle, you are very welcome. There is a certain respect a person gives another when they trust them with the truth.
No worries on lateness. You will see I’ve been without power since sometime after midnight on Monday and until about 7:30pm tonight.
Shalom,
Lisa
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i agree with Sandra – ‘You White people’is also offensive. After fostering a couple of babies, both black, I was asked to foster a teenager over the Christmas holiday, and mentioned it to a friend. She asked, “Is he black?” When I said I didn’t know she said, “That answers a question.” She has thought I was deliberately choosing black children to prove a point.
Instead of pointing out our differences, as another comment asks, can’t we all be just people?
Lizy
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Dear Lizy,
Kudos to you for taking in children who needed a home. Bigotry can happen on both sides of the fence. We are all people with body, soul and spirit, aren’t we?
Thank you for your comments and sharing your story,
Shalom,
Rochelle
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What an upsetting situation that must have been. I really wish we could all find a way to forget about the differences between us. I like how you handled this issue of ‘ …ism’s at the end of your story. Nicely done.
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Dear Margaret,
I love the Morgan Freeman comment that Granonine quoted earlier. He said to stop racism we should stop talking about it. What a concept. Thank you re my story. Sorry I’m so tardy.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Be as tardy as you wish, Rochelle. I’m the tardiest person I know so I’ll never complain about it. And of course, I meant ‘isms’, not ‘ism’s – GASP. 🫣 I’ll have the apostrophe police on my tail if I keep up that kind of misbehaviour.
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I’m sorry for this encounter with a friend. It’s always jarring to be misjudged. I agree with Sandra, when a statement begins with “you white people” or any other, there’s nothing more to say. Sad and strange times. Best wishes for your book launch!
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Dear Brenda,
Yes, it was jarring and hurtful and unexpected from this particular individual. Ah well. Live and learn. Thank you re the launch. I’ve written a story about it this week. 😉
Sorry for the late reply.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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It’s too easy to say something that offends these days, often it’s like walking across a verbal minefield.
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Dear Keith,
Verbal minefield. It is a thing. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I try to be careful with my words but I’m also aware of my failures and I hope those who know me know that an honest mistake is that, whatever the topic. For those on the receiving end, though, I imagine the constant barrage is exhausting. We can all only try to do better, while not getting caught in the trap of hyper vigilance. I like your last line – there is so much beauty in variety.
Jen
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Dear Jen,
It is exhausting to tiptoe through the verbal minefield (thank you, Keith) isn’t it? Sometimes it doesn’t matter what you say if the other person is already on the defensive. Ah well, here’s to looking for the beauty in all folks. Thank you for your comments. Please forgive my tardy reply.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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It is hard to admit that my parents were prejudice. Not openly, mind you, they were kind to everyone and some of my mother’s good friends were Mexican. But when I started to hang out with black boy -truly just friends – my parents told me I could no longer do so, it didn’t look right. When I told him, he admitted that he had been wondering how long our friendship would last. Now one of my favorite “partners” in our Dance Blast class is black. We have a grand time laughing.
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Dear Lish,
As much as I hate to say it, some of my best friends are black. One in particular who is a performing artist. He and I can say just about anything to each other. We laugh about prejudice and tease each other about our different racial background.
My mother had a fit when I dated gentile boys and, worse, married one. Happy to say, as you well know 😉 I’m still married to that goy wonder.
Thank you for sharing your story and lovely comments.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Quick question, why would you hate to say that some of your best friends are black.
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Only because it’s such a cliche for defensive white folks.
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Gotcha’. I have one black person I call a friend. She’s in my Dance Blast class and the two of us get to giggling so hard I think our instructor privately gives us the stink-eye. Bellingham still doesn’t have a lot of black people ~ when we moved here in 1984 I would say to Donn Look, a black person. Growing up in Denver, there were many so I was surprised by the lack of that population here. The PNW has a lot of people with a Scandinavian heritage. More Mexicans are “filling in the blanks” and I love having them around us. O.K. jumping off my soap box now.
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A thoughtful piece Rochelle. The way I see it, from my scifi and fantasy writer background, we are all human
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Dear Laurie,
If only we could see it as one race. The human race. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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It is so easy to dismiss actions as prejudice or racist. It’s not just color, as you know, it is religion, sexual orientation, where you are from, and the list goes on. I think it all began in grade school when we had to put on either the blue or red jumper while playing basketball. We have been dividing ever since.
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Dear Dawn,
True. As I said in the comment above. When I married a gentile boy, my mother had a fit. He might as well have been black. He wasn’t Jewish. And I’m still married to him. 😉
Thank you and shalom,
Rochelle
Sorry this is late in coming.
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It’s always hard when we hurt people unintentionally, isn’t it? We do our best until we know better, then we do better, right? I agree that we should all celebrate the diversity of all types of people. There’s so much to learn and enjoy about each other. Have a great week!
-David
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Dear David,
You, of all people, have enjoyed the diversity in people more than most. I admire that. There’s so much to appreciate, isn’t there? Thank you for your lovely comments. Sorry I’m so late in replying. Busy week.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I know well, from both giving and receiving, that our well-meaning words can strike other people wrong and hurt them. I wish I had answers. Thought-provoking!
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Dear Angela,
Words can be the most deadly weapons, can’t they? Thank you. Please forgive my tardy reply.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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They certainly can!
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