More With BT and WR
“Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding in the heart?” Job 38:36
Reader Update: WR and BT are two successful businessmen, who were stars from high school to professional careers in sports. Both retired after injuries and found themselves back home where their illustrious careers began. BT invited WR to join him in the transport business after buying a fleet of trucks at an auction.
WR’s uncle did not approve of the merger because he felt WR should have gone into business with a member of his family—namely his uncle’s son. WR chose not to, mainly because his first cousin had an impending problem with the Feds over freely using a bank’s money for personal use without their knowledge.
BT had been troubled about the use of race in the current political arena and especially after his son told him about racially motivated incidents he and his friends had experienced at school. BT asked his longtime friend how he felt about the racial attacks being leveled at leaders and others on a daily basis. The question caught WR off guard and his response prompted a discussion on race between the two men.
Setting: WR and BT are driving to the Port of Savannah to meet with their first client, Oriental Exports of Hong Kong.
WR: Man, I have got to go see my physical therapist soon; my knee has been acting up. I can feel it tightening up as I drive.
BT: Hey, come on. Pull over and let me take the wheel.
WR: Naw, not yet. Let me just see how long I can do this.
BT: You know you don’t have to do that. I’d rather you be able to walk up to Mr. Chang without a limp…though I suppose our usual explanations about our sports injuries will do the trick. I wonder if Mr. Chang knows about American football and our football careers?Anyway, don’t drive too long and let your knee get stiffer than it should, OK?
WR: Alright Man, I won’t. (clearing his throat)…You know BT, I’ve been wanting to ask you something every since we started our conversation on this race thing.
BT: Yeah, what’s that?
WR: Whenever I came to see you in the locker room after one of your games I would always hear you and some of your fellow players laughing and calling each other the “N” word. Why did you all do that?
BT: Aw man, that’s just the way we talk to each other. It doesn’t mean anything; we always talk to each other like that.
WR: Yeah, but why do you guys get to use that word and we can’t?
BT: Are you serious man?
WR: I’m dead serious BT. The other night my uncle was saying something about not being able to call Blacks what he’s called them all his life anymore. He said y’all had gotten so uppity about the word these days and always wanted to retaliate when it was used. He said he remembers when the word was used all the time, even in front of Blacks sometimes, and nobody said anything then because it was the normal way of things.
BT: (wanting to get angry at the “logic” of WR’s uncle, but knowing he had to give WR an answer that he could use with his uncle if he had to)…Wow, man where the hell do I start to answer that?…Ah.. look first of all, that thing about Blacks not saying anything when referred to by that term, well, there was a little thing called learning how to stay alive through decades of the worst abuse a human could endure, you know.
And secondly the word was created to describe human beings that received no respect as human beings. The word was meant to demean and vilify. A new generation made the word politically incorrect in order to help allay the guilty feelings associated with having ancestors who created the word in the first place. So now EVERBODY wants the word banned because it sounds sooo BAD. Of course it sounds bad. Its intended meaning is bad.
WR: Yeah, I get that but I still don’t understand why it is ok for Blacks to use it and not other races.
BT: Because taking that word from those who only wanted to use it to demean us, and us rendering it null and void in that context, allowed us to use it among each other as a term of endearment. Now there are times when we mean it to be as derogatory as it sounds.
This is when we have been wronged by a Black. You know beaten, robbed, lied on, talking ‘bout our mamas or killing a family member, stuff like that. Then it’s no holds barred because to do those things you are just a plain ole N….r and that’s all there is to it!
WR: (laughs)-Well in that case I can think of a lot of N…..s of all kinds of shades and hues.
BT: (laughing along with WR) -Yeah, me too.
WR: You know what, I told my dad about our pact to discuss this race issue openly and honestly and he thought it was a good idea. He even had some stories to tell about his upbringing. He said he was not immune to the same point of view as Uncle Ted’s but he changed when he saw the camaraderie between you and me during high school. He said he knew then that we had a bond that would never be tainted by race.
BT: He did? I always liked your dad and so did my family. My dad said he appreciated how your father was respectful of him whenever they saw each other.
WR: Great. Dad’s real like that.
BT: Your dad was in the service, did he ever talk about the Blacks in his company?
WR: Oh yeah. He said most of them were just plain ole good guys, and they really had your back in a fox hole. He talked about when he was first placed in their particular company. He had had an argument with a soldier from Canada, so his punishment was to be thrown in with a company that was all Black and known for their fierce fighting routines. He said he took it like a man and went to settle in at his new barracks. He got to know the men’s names and where they were from. He said he wasn’t so mad that they were all Black, he was pissed that they were all Yankees. But even to this day, they all…well the ones that are left…stay in touch with each other.
BT: That’s a funny story. Hey man why don’t you pull over at the rest stop coming up, I think it’s time you give that knee a rest and let me take the wheel.
WR: You got it man…