TBT: Overcoming prejudices

Ol' Hobbs's Thursday Thoughts!

The Facebook Memory reminded me of a post that I made on December 2, 2014—seven years ago today, following my near death experience in Central Florida. The day before, I had spent time in court depositions and later eating steak and crab at an Orlando area restaurant with my old Morehouse roommate and co-counsel, Richard K. Alan II.

With Big Rich near Orlando

After finishing our meal, I started to make the short trip from Orlando to Gainesville—but almost didn’t make it, as I wrote about from the safety of my hotel room the next morning:

"I arise this morning grateful to God for being alive with blood running warm in my body!" I know that in church, many a prayer starts off this way but today, for the first time since I got shot at during my junior year at Morehouse College, I realize that God's grace allowed me to escape the mortuary.

While riding home from a court appearance in Orlando yesterday on I-75, I suffered two blown out tires (how odd) while driving at about 80 mph in the center lane. The car immediately began to violently shake and it is only a miracle that I was able to get over to the right shoulder and come to a stop in front of an 18-wheeler that was fast approaching behind me!

After a nearly two hour wait in the early evening dark for USAA roadside assistance, replete with a completely unhelpful tow truck driver who did not seem equipped (nor concerned) with my plight because he had dropped his cell phone out in the grass and as it had died, he couldn't locate it, two Good Samaritans happened upon me on the side of the road--one in a Ford pickup and the other, who parked behind me, driving a tow truck.

Now, as a pundit, I often talk about profiling as far as Blacks being profiled by whites, but the truth is that as a human, I, too, at times make a gut level first reaction based on appearance. As the first man approached my truck I could see that he was a young white male and heavily tatted up and by all prejudicial first thoughts, I figured that he may have r*dneck tendencies at best---or at worst be a militia member equipped with Neo-Confederate sentiments. But in a true lesson that you cannot judge a book by its cover, or a man by his outward appearance, the young guy told me that he saw me stranded and that while he typically didn't stop like this at night, that something told him to pull over. He then told me that his dad, who was parked behind me, had a tow truck and that they sold tires at their home. Humbly, he added that they could just tow me on to Gainesville and let me park at a tire store that would open the next morning due to the late hour and simply drop me at a hotel if I didn't feel comfortable.

Again, being raised by parents who grew up during Jim Crow, I could hear my late father's voice in my head saying "Chuckie, don't you go to these Cr**kas house and wind up missing in one of these swamps." But my mental convo with the late Charlie Hobbs was interrupted by the young man's dad who flashed his flashlight at my tires and exclaimed "damn, these tires are f*cked up" to which I replied, "yep, they are f*cked up." I instantly said aloud "Lord, forgive me for praising you out of the same mouth that I am using to cuss," and the dad patted me on the shoulder and said "you're alright, I'm a Southern Baptist and God understands what we're saying." The three of us laughed and within minutes, my car was being towed to their house where they kept used tires so that they could hook me up.

As the men worked on the car, the dad started a discussion about the events that had transpired this year in Ferguson, Missouri. While my gut, again, was screaming "ok, here it comes," to my surprise, both opined that Mike Brown's killing was totally messed up, but that they just did not like the rioting nor Rev. Al Sharpton, who they suggested was simply out to get paid. When I countered that Rev. Sharpton helps to shed light on many issues that would otherwise get swept under the rug, the dad replied "yes sir, but you can't tell me that man ain't getting paid; I don't recall Martin Luther King getting paid." Due to both the truth of his assertion (Sharpton does get paid) and the late hour, I conceded that last point and we soon switched to a more light hearted conversation--our shared affinity for Florida Gators football.

I share this story because I realize that as a 42-year-old black male who was born only six months after Tallahassee Memorial Hospital was integrated, that I often recount many negative personal stories about the crucial issues of our day, including race, racism, and the justice system. But as a white Jewish colleague said earlier this year after one of my columns defending the rights of the oppressed Palestinians: "one would be hard pressed to know from reading your columns that you have had any good experiences with whites or Jews in your career," his suggestion made me pause, as my gut level defense was that perhaps he was offended because in my public punditry, the issues I touch upon make some whites uncomfortable because they do not want to read the hard truth that from a systemic standpoint, race, color and religion still matter and, because I know these truths to be self-evident, I would be remiss if I ever stopped revealing these truths to the masses--so I shan't!

But on a personal level, I suppose that perhaps I have not shared enough of what I believe in my heart, which is that good and bad people exist in all races, religions and other demographic markers. My closest friends know that I often say that I have been treated poorly by some Black folks, just as I have been treated well at times by non-Black folks; I truly judge each man and woman on how they act toward me, my kin folks and my skin folks.

But I am man enough to admit that I have my own prejudices, which is why last night's experiences with the two "Good Samaritans" humbly reminded me in real time to always judge each person according to their works--not some generalizations or preconceived notions..."

Lest I forget!

Thank you for subscribing to the Hobbservation Point—have a wonderful Thursday!