I’m old enough now to know that I can’t speak for women so when I generalize about something, it’s pretty much from a guys point of view....’n I was just thinking that there are three kinds of men...the ones that learn by reading....the few who learn by watching someone else ‘n the rest of the herd that just have to pee on the electric fence ‘n find out for themselves.....
Now I wonder about lots of things in the middle of the night ‘n I was just wondering about this thing called ‘science’....I know a couple people who think of themselves as ‘scientists’ and I don’t have any quarrel with their believing that. I call myself a writer ‘n there’s a whole lot of people who’d disagree with that..
Of course, I know some people who think of themselves as Christians and I, likewise, don’t have any quarrel with that. I once was acquainted with a man who thought of himself as a ‘Black Muslim’ and yet again, I didn’t have any problem with that.
Now, my friend, the Black Muslim (who shall remain nameless) did not like ‘White People’....indeed, he professed to me that he hated White People...I pointed out that I was a ‘White Person’ and I didn’t hate him, that I barely knew him and since he didn’t know me, it was somewhat irrational of him to hate me.
He thought about it for a moment or two, no more, and allowed as how I might have a point and that he didn’t really hate me, he just hated ‘White People’ in general.
So I told him a story about attending a ‘Yankee Go Home’ rally in Naha, Okinawa...about how a friend of mine and myself shouted “Yankee, go home!” as loud as everyone else at the rally. And then I told him about the party I attended after the rally.
It was a pretty high-tone party with politicians and business people and my friend and I were only there because of my association with the military newspaper which wasn’t really good enough to warrant an invitation but I kind of, just sort of exaggerated my position. Just a little bit...
My buddy was a half-breed Oklahoma born son of a ‘sooner’ family and me, just a ‘good ol boy’ from the hills of eastern Kentucky and we were having a good time. Well, y’know, free drinks ‘n snacks.....
But the ongoing conversations were all of an anti-American sentiment and after a bit, even with the free food and drink, we two country boys began to get a little peeved ‘n began to take the remarks personal...
Now, truth be told ‘n I always strive to be truthful (more or less)...my buddy just wanted to leave... “cut a chogie”
as we use’ta say in our pidgin Japanese...
Hark wasn’t gonna say anything, he was just gonna leave.....but I’m sort of a big mouth ‘n don’t always know when to keep my mouth shut ‘n besides I’d had just a sip or two or thereabouts, so I got on my high horse ‘n told my host that I was insulted ‘n that I’d have no more of his free booze....
Japan, like the American south of my youth, puts a high priority on politeness....’n like the American southener who doesn’t always mean it when he says, “Y’all hurry back now!”... my Japanese host viewed my huffiness as a loss of face to him personally ‘n he began to apologize profusely for having offended us, telling us that he had not meant that they didn’t like us personally, it was the American government that they didn’t like.....well, Hark ‘n I got over our huffiness ‘n stuck around to lap up some more of that free sake....’course, we never ever got invited again but then we never really expected to.....
Anyway, the Black Muslim and I became friends. We had both grown up on the Ohio River...he in Cleveland ‘n me in South Shore ‘n as Ohio River boys, we had a lot of likes ‘n dislikes in common....I don’t think I ever changed his mind about White People in general but I changed his mind about me....
I’m just sayin’.....
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