Intuiting Civil Rights
A few months ago Elizabeth and I had a conversation about Denny's Restaurant. I don't really remember how the conversation started... but we ended up talking about the restaurant chain's legal troubles... remember when the Secret Service agents sued Denny's for discrimination? I was telling her about that and an experience that I myself had. Around the same time as, but slightly before the Secret Service incident I worked in a building that was just down the street from a Denny's. My best girl friend and I would often head down their for lunch. We were always able to zip in, get a cheap but decent lunch, zip out and be back at our desks within an hour.
One day we invited another friend to join us - she just happened to be black. When we went in we were led to a table in the very, very back of the restaurant in a section that was clearly labeled "Closed." In fact, we were the only people there. Occasionally the waitress would come over but she always found an excuse to leave before she took our order. Two hours later we left without lunch.
I guess this should have set off alarm bells for me - but the Secret Service agents hadn't been denied service yet so we wrote it off as a bad day for the wait staff. The really telling thing is that the next couple of times I went back with just my white friend we always got the same quick and efficient service we were accustom to. But once the Secret Service story hit the air waves, my girl friend and I looked at each with big, round eyes and mouths agape and we stopped going there for lunch.
So, Elizabeth sat quietly listening to all of this. I didn't tell her that I stopped eating at he restaurant. But after pondering this for a while she said in a very firm, determined, and slightly angry voice, "I have lot of friends that would be hurt by Denny's so I'm never eating there again." The thing that I find truly interesting is that every time we have passed a Denny's since the original proclamation she gets annoyed all over again and reminds me that she will never eat at that restaurant ever again. Not to test her, but I'd be curious what she would say if a non-mom adult suggested going to Denny's - would she be strong enough to stick to her values or would she be intimated into going to Denny's. But either way - she's been "protesting" against injustice for more than six months now.
Do you think non-violent protest is an innate / intuitive skill?
One day we invited another friend to join us - she just happened to be black. When we went in we were led to a table in the very, very back of the restaurant in a section that was clearly labeled "Closed." In fact, we were the only people there. Occasionally the waitress would come over but she always found an excuse to leave before she took our order. Two hours later we left without lunch.
I guess this should have set off alarm bells for me - but the Secret Service agents hadn't been denied service yet so we wrote it off as a bad day for the wait staff. The really telling thing is that the next couple of times I went back with just my white friend we always got the same quick and efficient service we were accustom to. But once the Secret Service story hit the air waves, my girl friend and I looked at each with big, round eyes and mouths agape and we stopped going there for lunch.
So, Elizabeth sat quietly listening to all of this. I didn't tell her that I stopped eating at he restaurant. But after pondering this for a while she said in a very firm, determined, and slightly angry voice, "I have lot of friends that would be hurt by Denny's so I'm never eating there again." The thing that I find truly interesting is that every time we have passed a Denny's since the original proclamation she gets annoyed all over again and reminds me that she will never eat at that restaurant ever again. Not to test her, but I'd be curious what she would say if a non-mom adult suggested going to Denny's - would she be strong enough to stick to her values or would she be intimated into going to Denny's. But either way - she's been "protesting" against injustice for more than six months now.
Do you think non-violent protest is an innate / intuitive skill?
posted by Liz at 12:59 AM
3 Comments:
Well, it's possible that she learned a thing or two about social justice from her mom, too.... ! :-)
Elizabeth rocks! I want her on the GNU Team. I don't think the by-laws specify an age minimum - ?
:-)
That is a really cool story Liz (the part about Elizabeth, not the Denny's racism part), thanks for sharing!!
wow... I've been gone for a while and not able to keep up on your lives! This is very interesting... I think non-violent protest isn't innate really... I think violence is much more innate... but I was the mocked fat kid in school and hitting and threats of physical violence seemed to work... while nothing else did... so my experience is different.
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