Jackie Robinson on Meet the Press...have a look...really.
My Brooklyn-born and raised mother used to tell us stories about all the nasty things they said to "that man" from the stands and all the "garbage" he had to deal with, all with a gentle and quiet endurance. Jackie Robinson was always put up as our example of how to turn the other cheek like Jesus, and how to carry yourself in front of the "idiots" with class, although she didn't use that word.
She used to say "When you're good, it doesn't really matter WHAT "they" say about you. You KNOW you're good."
Check out the Johns-Manville ad poster on the walll...the makers of asbestos! Oh yeah,and my spine and the hair on my back tingle in a bad way every time they use the term "the negro." gross....
Then again, she was proud of me for using the gift of my "big mouth." in responding to my detractors..."What?!?! No, that isn't luggage, it's my saxaphone. You don't even know what a sax case looks like? I play sax. What do YOU play? Nothin'. that's what i thought."
I am just grateful for my mother and father and for growing up in a place and time when it wasn't okay to beat women with big mouths...
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