I had a very enlightening discussion last night with a "re-hire" who came back to work after having been laid off.
He is a aircraft mechanic with less experience than me, so they asked if I would help get him reacquainted to the process, etc....
As with this site, I never shut up, when I see an opportunity to grow in MY understandings of others, etc, and take the opportunity to ask questions, etc.
After some pleasantries, and getting a feel for each other, I decided to ask this guy if he was from the Caribbean....
He is a Black man and had a distinct accent.
He chuckled and said no, but that I was not the first person to ask him that.
He shared he was born in west Africa, but moved with his mother to England in his late teens, and learned much of his english there.
He is about 30 now, married, one child.
From here the conversation got deeper.
He didn't not mind my probing at all.
To summarize what he shared with me re: race, etc.....
He said most of what folks feel, believe, is media driven perceptions.
That his experience, is that he is very grateful and thankful to be in America.
He does not take the racial diversion to heart, etc, and blames people themselves for choosing to be angry.
His view toward America is that like being invited into someones home, that you respect who they are, and do not try to change their decor, etc.
I shared how I feel "white" america, and America in general, for using our power to our concerns before others, is guilty of a lot of problems, etc...
He disagreed and said we are just being told that, etc.
That America is held as high example, and hope, to many.
Also, he said of back home, in West Africa, where he still has family, and helps them financially, etc....
Is that technology is finally catching on, available to the common folk, that the INTERNET, etc, has opened the hearts and eyes to the real truth of the world, without the filters of those who only want to keep you in captivity of ignorance....
THAT, blew me away....
He even shared where last year, 500 people from his city/town, graduated with a degree from schooling....
He said that is HUGE!
I asked how others of his race see it, what is the perception of them.
He said most believe the same way.
As the night wore on, we traveled around the factory to do others task, he was warmly greeted by many of his own race, and of other ethnicity, with lots of hugs and "welcome back...missed you bro" stuff.
I am sure we will talk further today, its one of the greatest assets of working for such a large and diverse company, I get to extend my understandings of others, FIRSTHAND, instead of on a pretty useless message board, or the media narrative that only wants to profit of reporting BAD NEWS....IT SELLS!
The sun will rise tomorrow Web, it always has.....
Have faith, nothing has the power, or ability, to stop the revealing of TRUTH...
It will be known, it just takes what seems like too long getting here