(Winnetka, IL) "I've seen 'To Kill a Mockingbird,'" commented Fred Lawson. "I know what racism looks like." The thirty-four year-old civil engineer described his confusion with regard to the recent protests and rioting that have taken place in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis by Officer Derek Chauvin.
Lawson, an Ivy League graduate and member of the most affluent socioeconomic class in recent history, claims to have both African American friends and an understanding of racism.
"I would totally have been involved in the sit in movement, if I had been alive in the sixties. I mean, it's just unbelievable to me that anyone could discriminate against other people on the basis of their skin," said the owner of a five bedroom house on a racially homogeneous street. "There are some really bad cops out there. I've been saying that since my dad explained the LA riots to me when I was six. But, I mean, I can't imagine going out there and rioting - wouldn't that just be playing into what Fox News is saying about African Americans? It's like, yeah, they're mad, but is burning down Target going to bring Mr. Floyd back? God, it's so weird that that's in Minnesota of all places."
"Sure, the KKK still exists in America, but I mean, they aren't around here. I don't think so, anyway. That stuff is all just in the south - like, Alabama and Georgia and places like that. We wouldn't stand for that sort of thing here. But, I just don't understand why things like this are still happening. I voted for Obama both times. I retweeted videos of Colin Kaepernick kneeling, and I voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. It just seems like there's nothing that I can do in Winnetka to change the system. It's really sad, but what are you going to do? If I had kids, I would totally teach them not to see race. We're all one race: the human race. There's nothing that prejudice can do to make me not believe that."
Despite his seemingly strong stance on the subject Lawson sighed and said that he was thinking of asking his high school friend, Ashton Koffe, to "teach" him what he might do about racism. "I don't know," he then commented, "it might be weird. I haven't talked to him in a really, really long time. Like, what's he going to think if all I've been doing is wishing him a happy birthday on Facebook, and then suddenly, it's like, 'tell me what to do to fix racism.' You know?"
Lawson decided that he would get back to thinking about the issue as soon as he finished watching the next couple of episodes of "Ozark" on his new 8k television that was assembled by laborers who are paid less than a hundredth of Lawson's salary to work long hours in a factory that has failed environmental safety checks for three years in a row.
No comments:
Post a Comment