My Smart Friend

How I think of a woman from my book club: 1) a doctor 2) married with twin daughters (the twin thing always impresses me. Baby care *2 sounds just so overwhelming) 3) also the mother of a 14 year old son who’s going to be a cool young man 4) English 5) of Indian origins, by way of Tanzania. So I associate her with Freddy Mercury, who, as Foro says, is eternal (see previous post).

The book club reading choice this time was Why I No Longer Talk to White People About Race. But with all of the things I think about the woman who suggested the book, the first is that she’s a doctor, the second is that she’s a mother of three. Then I think that she’s English with Indian origins. And then I start humming “We Will Rock You”.

There is no way to say that “I’m not racist”. The fact of saying it is a denial, and one can’t deny racism to a writer like Eddo-Lodge. The fact of being white is an accusation. The fact of existing in as a white person in a world that she defines as systemically racist makes you automatically guilty. The fact that there are any other concerns that one might chose as just as important or more important than racism is another guilty charge.

I care more about the planet than I do about racial issues (and mass extinctions are not 100% separated from racial issues, because there are overlaps, but in my opinion the ecological problems of the world have as much to do with poverty and unequal distribution of resources and education; this can be racist but not exclusively). I don’t think that if the world wasn’t racist that our planet would really be better off. The individual lives of victims of racism would be better, but I don’t see that having any relation to the overuse of pesticides, dealing with corruption in the food industry, plastic in the ocean, food waste, etc.

Foro, however, just rolls his eyes at me. He tells me to chill out. I need to listen more to Foro. He likes my smart friend, though, a lot. He’s a bit afraid of the twins, however. His overwhelming cuteness might get his arms torn off.