Today, my sister and I had coffee and the best raisin roll in the world at Downtown Subscription, in Santa Fe. Living in Española, I often forget that I do not belong to the "majority" ethnicity. I forget there IS such a thing as "whitey". This morning, I shared a space with a whole lotta people who reminded me that whitey is alive and well in northern New Mexico.
There, my sister and I discussed our mom always taking us to events in Santa Fe where we were often the only Chicanas. Consequently, my sister is much more comfortable with middle class/upper middle class/rich white folk. This lead to our musing over being "boojie", or bourgeoise. My sister accepts that she is. I struggle, have always struggled against our middle class upbringing.
My sister reminded me that revolution can only happen when the middle class is sick of itself. I'd finally found my zen! I was PERFECT in my struggle not to be "boojie". If I stopped struggling, there would never be a revolution.
So, I move forward, no longer tormented by the struggle; but, enlivened by it! My sister reminded me, too, that it's the struggle that makes everything worth it! Let's get this party (revolution) started!
Thanks to a dear friend, I'd like to define what the word "whitey" means to me, as I recently posted a note using the word. For me, whitey means "the man" and more than that, it means those who believe that gathering power and wealth is their manifest destiny. So, really, whitey doesn't have much to do with the color... of a person's skin or their ethnicity or culture.
ReplyDeleteAfter a brief discussion on Facebook, some friends came up with a replacement for "whitey" to be called CHGBD or Captain Howdy Green-Back Demons. Very fitting, I think.