The Other Side of Prejudice
“I used to think anyone doing anything weird was weird. Now I know that it is the people that call others weird that are weird.” Paul McCartney
If asked, we would all say we don’t have a prejudiced bone in our bodies. We might be wrong. A one day trip in Greece taught me how prejudiced I was.
While vacationing in Greece, I bought a ticket for a day cruise headed for three islands. Aboard ship, only one other woman sat alone. She was dark skinned with a scar on one side of her face; she sat frowning grimly. Frankly, her appearance put me off; it even scared me a bit. But there was only one seat free . . . at her table. I took it. A waiter served us kafe; she glared at him then turned away. “I was right”, I thought, “she’s some kind of tough.” Suddenly tears flowed down her cheeks. She said, “I’m sorry. The airline lost all my luggage. I’m on my way to my sister’s wedding in London; my trunks were full of gifts for her. And now I have nothing to wear.”
Whooooosh. My fear and discomfort flew out of me like air from a deflated balloon. Within minutes, I learned she was from Zimbabwe; her father was with the nationalist bakeries — and he would be very upset if she lost the wedding gifts he entrusted to her. Plus, all she had to wear was on her back – a dark heavy suit.
Being women with a gene for shopping, we made a plan. We had three islands to see. On one, we found a blouse. On Poros, jeans, and on classy Hydra, a skirt. On Hydra, we also found two charming male Brits who invited us to lunch and roamed the cheerful flea market on Hydra with us.
When we almost missed the ship’s departure, deckhands hauled us up over the ship’s railings while Greeks on shore cheered us on. What a great adventure.
Meditation for the Day
We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race.” Kofi Annan, 2001 Nobel Peace Prize winner
Action for the Day
Today, I’ll judge others the same way I would like them to judge me. Or was that said by Someone already?
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