Pete's Revised BLOG - Day 9.

Todayis Saturday, March 17, 2012. It is another unbelievable 84 degree day in the middle of March. This is day 26,018 of my life.

I'm going to be short again today so I can enjoy the weather. Something happened Thursday that was very uspetting. We were at a Happy Hour enjoying a beer while sitting by an older gentleman whom we have known for 7-8 years. We've always had good conversations with him as he is an avid Cub and Hawkeye fan. But things took a different turn on Thursday. I saw a side of him I had never seen before. His name is Bob and it all started like this.

We were watching Harvard play basketball in the NCAA tournament. They showed a clip from the 1946 NCAA tournament of Harvard playing. That was the last time they were in the tournament - 66 years ago. Then the conversation went like this:
Pete - "I see they were all white kids at that time."
Bob - It sure isn't that way anymore."
Pete - "No, it sure isn't. I believe 85% of the NBA players are now black."
Bob - "It's more than that. And they've also taken over the college teams."
Pete - "Bob, I look at this way. Thank God black kids get to play ball with white kids these days."
Bob - then he exploded, he almost screamed at me. "Now with a black president they're going to take over everything."
Pete - "Bob, I didn't think I'd hear that kind of stuff coming from you."
Bob - in a loud voice "Well, I know what kind of stuff I'll hear from you. If you like them so much why don't you go and live with them."
Pete - "You mean I should go to Africa and live with black people."
Bob - "That's what I mean."
Pete - "Oh boy, this is a shocker. By the way Bob, it is the white people that brought blacks to America. They didn't come of their own free will."

He didn't answer me on that. By that time I think everyone dining was paying attention to our unpleasant exchange.

We got up to leave and I patted Bob on the shoulder and said, "Bob. I don't think we should talk politics or about anything like this, let's talk about the Cubs and Hawks." He didn't respond to my peace offering so I don't know what he will be like next week - I hope he mellows out. Ruth Ann and I will not make an issue of it. We've had too many fun conversations with Bob over the years to let this ruin it.

Bob is 72 years old. He and quite a few others I know just can't believe or accept the fact that there is a black president of the U.S. Boy, you don't have to dig too deep to find racism alive and well in the U.S. It is pretty sad that this is still true in 2012, In my opinion, it will take several more generations for racism to subside - it will never disappear but it should lessen. I think the answer is what has happened in Brazil - over the last 4-500 years the whites, Indians, and blacks have intermarried so much that most of the population is of a brown tint. Then people like Bob couldn't accuse the blacks of taking over the U.S. because everybody would be somewhere between light brown/black to a darker brown/black - no more pure whites or pure blacks.