I was talking to my dad yesterday and he was telling me about things hes gone through with different people hes known over the years and he has always been one to stand up for the underdog because hes been that all his life even in his own family. Hes always had this sense of fairness and demands that people be treated that way even complete strangers. He was telling me how people would be talking in private to him and saying negative things and calling people of other races racist names and hed stop them and tell they werent going to say that about people. These were people we went to church with who you would think should know better. He would tell them if they considered themselves to be Christian that type of behavior was unacceptable and he wasnt going to stand for it. He said people wonder how he can get along with so many different people and he said people are people no matter what they look like and there are good and bad people no matter which group they belong to. Thats why we grew up meeting and getting to know people from all walks of life. He was telling me about a guy who started working as a temp with the company he was working for and they were getting ready to let him go because they felt like he wasnt going to be able to pick up the nuances of the job fast enough so he went and talked to management and convinced them to let him work with the guy and show him the ropes and 25 years later the guy is still with the company and he never missed a moment to enthusiastically show his appreciation whenever he sees him. My dad retired last year and every time that guy sees him he tells him how much hes missed at work. There are other younger guys hes mentored who feel the same way and they dont miss a chance to let him know it. When I was 10 we almost moved to Texas because he was a carpenter by trade and had gotten a good job helping build those houses in the suburbs of Ft. Worth. He decided to come back home because my great grandmothers and great aunts were getting older and my grandparents were getting older as well and he knew they would need someone to care for them. Nobody else was going to do it because my aunts and uncles wouldnt take the time unless they needed something from these people. He said he has a clear conscience because he did all he could for them. Only my grandmothers are left now and my parents and my siblings are still looking out for them. Ironically enough because of the non mainstream choices my parents made early on we were the black sheep of the family, the ones at the bottom of the totem pole. Because of how my parents raised us to respect our elders regardless of how we were treated growing up we are the ones everyone calls when they need something because they know out of everyone we will be there to do it. We could be ugly like they were to us but my parents always said we were going to be the bigger people and treat people the way we wanted to be treated and its worked out for the best for my family. I guess Im like my dad in a lot of ways because I believe in fairness and I cant stand when people are victims of injustice and wrongdoing at the hands of others. I tend to gravitate towards underdogs and I try to stick up for people who have been mistreated or treated unfairly. A lot of that has to do with growing up the way I did being poor, being homeschooled, living in a small rundown old house, and doing just about everything counter to the mainstream. It opens the door to criticism and judgment and subjects you to being the butt of jokes and the object of constant ridicule. I know how it feels and I can relate when it happens to others.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 09:10:47 +0000