Racism live and well in your own backyard...

I know that there is racism still in this country, but I have never seen color, I have always just seen peoples hearts, if your a good person, kind, caring that is what counts. My mother grew up in Harlem, for Gods sake. We were lucky enough to be brought up in a town that we have families of color, we had Jewish families, we had Spanish families, mixed raced families even gay families and for the late 60's and being a small town and not being closed minded about these things was huge! We didn't see color we saw friends, it was an incredible place to grow up in and maybe because of that I thought the rest of the world was like we were. My very first best friend was black, my "Uncle" our family friend was black, Hell I even go to a prodimidly black church,this has never been a issue for me. Unfortunately I was wrong not only does the rest of the world still have racism but yesterday I realized that its is in your own back yard. I met someone online, he seemed nice so after a few emails we decided to meet yesterday at the beach. He was a mixed race man,6'5 (alittle too tall for me ) but through text messaging he seemed sweet. Surprise to me! He started off by telling me his mom was Italian and his dad was black, then he went on to tell me that he would never go to my church because there where to many blacks in one place, he didn't want to hang with ghetto people. He just didn't say that? I told him he was sadly mistaken if he thought my church was ghetto! That I have met some of the kindest, sweetest, giving people there. Well right away we are off on the wrong foot, insult my church? I am so not feeling this man, but I am polite and we keep talking. He tells me how his dad is a ex NBA basketball player and how he played for a professional team in another country, how rich he was, how people always stop him and recognize him (really do anyone you know here watch Swedish basketball ?) I am getting a little more put off so I tell him "yup I walked away from a marriage with lots of money, money doesn't make you happy" He looks at me like I have lost my mind, oh yeah, this date is going down hill fast. Until he then asks me if I was married to a white man, I tell him yes, a Jewish man, now he proceeds to tell me how Jews own the world, they think that they are all that, that they are not chosen people. "let me tell you how it goes" he says I'm thinking oh go right ahead because if you haven't dug your grave already this will really do it, please go on I say. "It goes whites, then Jew's, then blacks, then Indian's and on the bottom of the barrel is Spanish people" He did not just say that??? With that the date was over for me but before I left him standing there I turned and said. " oh by the way I guess I didn't mention I was half Puerto Rican" He stood there with his mouth open, then he said as we were standing by our cars "oh are you leaving?" I said "No, you are" and with that I walked away. Wow good thing I didn't dress up for this date! I am still in shock, I have dated a lot of losers lately (okay, no smartass comments from the peanut gallery) But this one takes the cake! Did he really think there was more white blood in him then black, was he mad at the rest of world? I don't know what his problem was but I have no time for idiots like this. What I have never understood is that it doesn't matter what color you are, cut us and we all bleed red and when we die we all go in the ground, period! Doesn't matter what color you are , doesn't matter how much money you have, we are all the same, why can't people realize this? No one is better than someone else, money doesn't make you better , color doesn't make you better, what makes you a better person is how you treat others period! Yes, I have been learning a lot of lessons this past year but the one I keep learning over and over is what I will put up with and what is definitely not okay! So I guess I will keep dating if for nothing else than more stories for my book. My last thought is be the change you want to see, it starts with you. Love thy neighbor, like you love yourself. We are all children of God. www.treadmilltreats.wordpress.com www.beachbodycoach.com/treadmilltreats