Sigh

Today I happened upon an uncomfortable conversation with some attendees at a professional development session I was helping to run.

It was during lunch, and the group was sharing stories about their grandmothers. One of the woman was someone who I'd never met, and she started telling a story about her grandmother getting pulled over for speeding or something.

She was trying to make this point about considering the ages of people and the day and time in which they were raised, etc.

She said the her grandmother was pulled over by a black police officer, and as her grandmother was telling the story, she was referring to the officer as an "n" word. The woman said something like, "but consider the time she was raised in. She grew up in a time when that was acceptable and common. You have to keep that in mind..."

And she was expecting the group to agree. You know, to say that it is ok for old woman to describe people who have the same skin color as my daughters as "n" words.

Umm, no.

Times change.

I don't care if the grandmother was born in 1918 or whatever.

USING THAT WORD IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. AT ALL. NEVER. UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

And to try to defend that behavior is equally appalling.

After that, I passed around my cell phone so the other people in the group could see the picture my friend had just sent me.

Of my daughter getting ready for her first dance class today. My beautiful, smiley, precious, sweet, cherished daughter. Who happens to be black.

Then I got up and left the table.