Progress in Black and White

On Saturday afternoon, my son and I were staking out the exit doors of our local Lowe's Home Improvement Store (when did they stop being "hardware" stores?), pitching overpriced popcorn to the weekend masses on behalf of his Cub Scout troop. "Would you like to buy some popcorn or make a donation?" Over and over, without any change in pitch or delivery, he and his 8 year old buddy were models of persistence and dogged optimism. It obviously takes a lot of rejection to dampen the enthusiasm of a kid supporting his gang and his cause. Minimum prices per can began at $8, skyrocketing to $17 for a large decorative tin of pre-popped, caramel covered popcorn with almonds. Makes a great gift. We all know that the Girl Scouts have cornered the market with their "treats disguised as charity" business model, a profit engine driven first and foremost by the popular Thin Mints. Those cookie box prices are designed to drive volume, and provide an immediate investment return for the little salesperson who smiles sweetly and says "Pleeeease" with that irresistible and unrehearsed hint of desperation. Girl Scout cookie sales are "a slam dunk", while Cub Scout popcorn sales require more finesse.

But I am not here to whine about the Girl Scouts making our job harder on this sunny day. Thomas had heard his share of "No thank you" and adults pretending not to see or hear him and his sales pitch. "Part of the sales training process", I encouraged him. Thomas, midway through his 2-hour shift, had his own theory on his sales successes and failures. He turned to his friend and commented, "The people with the white skin are buying the popcorn, and the people with the black skin are not."

ALERT! ALERT! White Man's Guilt, dead ahead!!!

In the pit of my stomach, I felt it. And I had to react.

"Thomas, let's not make snap decisions about who will buy popcorn and who won't. You never know just by looking at someone, so just keep trying." He listened (not sure if he understood), and dutifully went back to his friend and the job of moving product.

I'll admit, I've had many thoughts about this incident since, and most are positive. First, all my son did was state a fact - more white people had in fact been customers. He wasn't suggesting that black prospects be ignored, and his behavior towards the clientele remained unaffected. That's good. Second, his friend didn't react one way or the other to the observation. To him, someone young enough to be unencumbered by the guilt of racism, the comment meant nothing beyond that statement of fact. Third, I realized that he had not made any distinctions between the brown skinned and the black skinned. There was only white and non-white to him, the shadings didn't register as a significant difference. Finally, there was no whiff of condescension, no fears; there was only "this is what I see" without extra baggage attached.

After replaying the moment in my head, I am left with some pride - in our parenting, in our schools, and in our country. The much maligned "multiculturalism" as taught in the schools and supported by the non-Right Wing media appears to be having an impact on the up and coming generations. Maybe the racial differences that were defined for us in an often negative way as we grew up are falling away. Maybe our kids will see the differences in skin and accent, but not assign negative personality traits to those differences. Maybe our kids are learning not to ignore differences, but to see them, shrug, and move on.

Marra will grow up knowing that Barack Obama can run for President as a top tier contender, based on his merits. Marra will live in a world where a woman running for the highest office is a given. In New Hampshire, we will probably hear questions about race and gender. If I'm right, Marra will hear these questions and later ask me, "Daddy, why does any of that matter? I don't get it." That would be great.

On the trail in 11 days.

JS