BRATTLEBORO — Prejudice is something we all live with and have dealt with in some way. If people aren't prejudiced about one's race, they might be about one's religion, ethnicity, social standing, or something else. It doesn't matter: it's all prejudice, and prejudice is ignorance.
Most people try to hide their prejudices, but here in Brattleboro, we pride ourselves on dealing with it in subtle ways.
One biker club, for example, seems to have prided itself in not having any black members, yet also takes pride in letting two black men visit their clubhouse.
A couple of months ago, I learned about an employee of a Brattleboro business who makes incendiary racial statements in his workplace, like how there should not be a mixing of the races and how the blacks have taken over the sports world.
Any person working in such a public place as a business should keep such thoughts and opinions to themselves. It does no one any good - employer, employee, or patron - to verbalize such ignorant statements. It only does good when it is openly talked about in a public forum, where people are able to hear facts.
I am a mix of black, white, and First People (Native American). I was also born here in Brattleboro more than 60 years ago, and I have seen much ignorance when dealing with the different races and racism here. It is a dialogue that needs more discussion before people here learn how insidious racism really is.