Friday, January 26, 2007

Erin's Choice

The following is inspired by Nikki's latest:

I just thought I'd share something my mom mentioned to me, recently.

One of our family members, "Erin," has a grandmother (not mine) whom she'd allowed to move in with her.

One day, there was a family event at Erin's home. Almost everyone else was outside participating, but she was taking care of something in one of the back rooms of her home.

Erin heard voices and, upon investigation, realized it was her grandmother's and her sister's voice she'd heard, coming from the front room. Apparently, they thought Erin was outside because they were talking about her pretty badly.

I'm guessing Erin wouldn't have liked that, BUT that she might have been able to deal with it... IF the grandmother hadn't also talked badly about one of Erin's sons.

Reportedly, the grandmother thinks the world of the half-white, baby boy, "Noah." "Unfortunately," the other child, whom we'll call "Tyrese," has a dark chocolate complexion. It's the chocolate one the grandmother was dogging out.

By the end of the day, Erin had put her grandmother and her belongings out of the house. Can't say I blame her.

It was bad enough that Erin's grandmother disrespecting the person who'd let her live there, rent-free. Considering the fact that Noah and Tyrese could've ended up with screwed-up self-images and self-esteem, due to the grandmother's extreme affection for one and extreme distaste for the other purely based on skin-tone, I back Erin's decision all the way.

The grandmother will land on her feet. It's the babies that need protecting, the most.


There's no punchline or anything. I just thought I'd share an example of how this kind of thing (bias against darker-skinned Black folks) can even break up families.

5 comments:

nikki said...

dude...i can't believe this is STILL happening! i'm so glad erin took things into her own hands. her babies DO need protecting, most times it'll be protection from family cuz fam has a way of really jacking up a person, you know?

did erin tell her grandmother why she was being kicked out?

West said...

She definitely told her. In fact, I think it's safe to say that she got in dat azz.

From what I hear, the Christian in her is telling her to let her Grandmother back in.

I think that's kind and all, but I think I'd probably make a difference choice. Hard to say until you've been there, though... I guess.

Anonymous said...

People talk about people all the time, and it's worse in the family. I'm sure Erin could have talked to her about how disappointed she was instead of reacting. Even so, letting her back in, I’m not sure if that's the right move either. Unless of course the grandmother has nowhere else to go.

As far as choosing one child over another, unfortunately that's also prevalent in families.

It's challenging raising children with so many issues.

All the best to Erin. It seems this situation has awakened the cruel reality of racism and her "mother bear" instincts to protect her cubs.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, grandma would definitely have to go.

Anonymous said...

I understand being Christian and wanting to let your Grandmother back in, but no. Young black males face enough hardships without hearing they are not good enough from family members. Damn. That just makes me sad.