Yes, the title does say "part 2", I'll get to part 1 next!
We went to the Symphony last night for the HOliday Pops show, it included classical, religious and fun songs, both 'catholic' and jewish too, with the Hannukah Festival Overture by Lucas Richman. The night was memorable for a lot of reasons, some funny, some poetic, some made me really question how I think about things, in my subconscious.
WHile waiting for the show to start, we talked a bit, ever since we talked about haveing children, we wanted them to learn an instrument, something neither of us did growing up. Last night we talked about the instruments in the Symphony and how the violin is such a beautiful sound, but as E put it, there are so many others. For instance, this Symphony had a Harp, right out in front, it was showcased in several peices, some being solo, it was 'intoxicating' at times. She played that harp with her hands, like an Olympic ice skater plays the ice with their skates, it was breathtaking. If no sound came out, it would have still been beautiful. I love the sound, Eric not so much. Then there's the Obo, the French HOrn, my favorite, the trumpet. But E figured it out during a rendition of "sleigh ride", Mapgie can plan the Wood Blocks! E put it best "now that's a finely tuned instrument!"
Then there was the moment, Magpie -your dad can say some funny but not PC stuff at times, in between peices, E leans over and says, "Hey, did you see that old fossil on stage", referring to a very old gentleman playing the Violin. My mouth just dropped, I"m grateful no one else heard it! This moment is followed immediately by the conductor introducing that "old fossil" as the oldest member of their band, having been in the Symphony for 52 years and would be retiring this year...
The most incredible moment of the evening came when the conductor introduced a young man, talking about all his attributes, I swear, he was about to be entered into Sainthood, Sophmore in college, sings in 2 choirs, plays in the orchestra, member of a collegiate competitive brain team, youth orchestra leader, voluteer for the homeless, in his spare time runs track... He was coming on stage to sing Ave Maria, simply one of the most beautiful songs I could think of. It started off with just him and the harp, building to this powerful ensemble with the entire orchestra, it was breathtaking. Seriously, had tears in my eyes and not many songs bring me to tears.
And in the end, it left me with feeling elated from the beauty of the music and horrible all at the same time. Why was I surprised, when he walked out on stage after the intro, that he was african american. What's wrong with me that in the back of my head, I didn't allow room in that intro to think this person would be anything but white. It's moments like that, I realize, even if you outwardly don't fall prey to stereotyping, inwardly there's a whole different story. I was quite honestly ashamed/disappointed in myself and I hope to remember that moment for a long time to come, to help me open my eyes for the next moment like that.
Magpie, your mom is nothing but deeply honest, remember that. It's an attribute that you are either going to hate or love.
3 comments:
I think we all fall prey to stereotyping from time to time, in one way or another. I think the important thing is to recognize it, like you did. The worst is when someone does it but never even realizes what they are doing.
Your honesty and ability to talk about stereotyping is wonderful. If more people would do this there would be less sterotyping in the world. I am reading a wonderful book right now called A Hope in the Unseen. It's about an inner city D.C. student who goes to an Ivy League school. A lot of the book deals with sterotypes and is a real eye opener. I've also encountered situations like you have and have felt bad for what I may have thought. In my job, I worked with an incredibly talented reporter who is black, gay and overweight. He allowed me to ask a lot of quesions about sterotypes and we've had some really great discussions. Magpie's lucky to have a Mom who really thinks about things!
I recently discussed my feelings on my own stereotyping. Thanks for admiting that you do it too! And that, like me, we feel ashamed when we do it...
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