In watching this episode of Black.White. I came to think a lot of things. While I think that both Brian and Bruno are both somewhat jaded in their views, Bruno is the one that seems to NEED to not see any prejudice. The more I listen to him and see his actions the more I feel that he has a need to protect his world view. Like being in Simi Valley or some of the other places he and Brian have gone. While in this episode there was nothing blatant, though a couple of the faces looked very cautious (which I understand cause in NYC people would be suspicious) in this interaction, other episodes people did seem to be resistant to both of them. But not blatant no.
Still my experiences out in the area was very different. Like when I lived in Canoga Park. It’s near Simi Valley for those that know that part of L.A. One time I was out, I think on a Sunday, and I went out to a new bar I hadn’t been in before. I wound up hanging out with a couple, who were regulars. We were drinking and playing darts for an hour or 2 and things were fine. Then an older regular guy came in. Now everyone in the bar is white, except me. The new patron rails on me almost immediately. He’s berating me and throwing around epitaphs while I’m on another end of the bar and hadn’t said a word to him. After a few words, mostly by him, we were both thrown out (though everyone questioned why I was asked to leave). That was a night of racism that does exist out in that area. Only a few have it, but its there.
And I find the way Bruno interacts to be odd as well. He seems to close himself off when confronted by others about when they feel a hint of racism. Like when he and Carmen we are the country bar. Or when she was without makeup in the park. He refused to acknowledge the obvious feelings that she and those around her had. As if his saying it didn’t exist made it so. Yet Carmen and Rose both noticed the differences from when they were shopping as white women, as opposed to when they were made-up as Black African American women. And Rene, Nick and Brian have all commented on the differences they have experienced at one point or another. Bruno is the only one that hasn’t. Why is that?
Bruno really pissed me off in this episode as you can tell. How does anyone argue the point Brian makes about reparations? I have discussed the lack of reparations for descendants of Black African American and the refusal of the Government to even provide an apology. And similar to my statements are the thoughts that Brian has stated. It cannot be argued that initially America was an agriculture based economy. Even today it is a very strong part of the economy. The fact that the slave labor made it immensely profitable is a undeniable, there is no debate. America may not have existed, and certainly wouldn’t exist in this form if it were not for slavery.
And I hated the comment that “we all were enslaved at some point”. That is just not true to my knowledge. I am unaware of the Anglo Saxons being slaves, or the Gauls, or the Vikings and Romans. And the inference is that we were all slaves in the last couple of hundred years. That is a stupid statement. Or inference. So is the statement that it can’t be done, nor has it for anyone. There have been reparations for Jews, Japanese, and Native American Indians as well as apologies by the government.
I think my thoughts on Bruno crystalized and stuck when I saw him in the dominoes game. He held a look of fear. I mean he looked like he was afraid. It would have been one thing to say he wasn’t comfortable, to confront the fact that showed on his face and moreso in his eyes. But he didn’t. Instead it was all about how the room was filled with smoke, and the language was foreign, and that he didn’t know the game. He could have mentioned something about the smoking, but he’s never mentioned it bothered him before. Learning a new game in a social setting is fun, for most people. The expectation is that you don’t know what you are doing so you just play for the fun and company. And he has been in bars and I think drinks, so others drinking should not be a factor either. Would he have the same reaction if the room was filled with stockbrokers, with cigars, sipping scotch, and playing poker? Is there a difference besides the color of the people playing? I’ve been in both situations and I have to wonder, because I was comfortable in both.
Well enough on my thoughts on Bruno... I guess I was more upset with him than I thought.
Continued in the next post...
2 comments:
bruno came into this with the thought already in his mind that black people had chips on their shoulders and our perceptions are incorrect because we are just angry. bruno is really good at making himself believe that no one has any bad intentions. i don't like bruno because bruno seems to also find some perverse enjoyment in saying the word "niggar" over and over in front of black people and not getting punched in the face. that's what i think about bruno, just keeping it simple.
...after thought....
bruno, as well as other people (black, white and in between) should understand the difference between a marginalized perception and ignorance, because there is a subtle but definite line between the two. ignorance begins when you don't want to see anything outside of your perception, literally ignoring the circumstance.
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