THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 5, 1995 TAG: 9511010050
SECTION: REAL LIFE PAGE: K3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE KERNELS, SPECIAL TO REAL LIFE
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
Tap. Tok. Tap. Tok.
The rhythmic sound of high heels making contact with asphalt.
Its 10:53 p.m. Friday. At a deserted parking lot nowhere near you.
Tap. Tok. Tap. Tok.
Is it me - or are those sounds getting closer?
Tap. Tok. Tap. Tok.
I want to turn around, see who it is, determine if I'm in danger - but don't. Too obvious.
Tap. Tok. Tap. Tok.
If I can only make it to my car. . .
``Excuse me . . . sir?''
OH GOD. TOO LATE.
``Sir? Can you help me?''
I want to ignore her, be like so many other people who pass by a stranded motorist, don't help the old lady across the street, park in the handicapped space.
I want to . . . but can't.
So I turn around. And pray.
This is what I see: a black woman, mid-20s, well-dressed, red lipstick, owl-rimmed glasses and at arm's length.
Or, in more generic terms: Black and white. White and black.
Could she be - as she appears - someone in need of help? Or is she someone - as my prejudices tell me - who is about to add my name to some undesirable statistic?
I shouldn't be asking these questions. I shouldn't be pre-judging anybody.
I am 28. A card-carrying member of Generation X. I never rode with Rosa Parks. Never saw Jackie Robinson break the color barrier. Never lived in fear of the Klan. Never saw a Black Panther. Never was caught in the Watts riots.
Those were my parents' problems - and their parents' problems. But they've been passed down to us.
Those people and events set off a chain reaction that, by now, should have moved toward racial equality. Not backward.
Some would say that we've come a long way since the days of slavery.
Some would say get real.
I would say, Wake up, America. We're more divided now than ever. Just look at what's happened. Rodney King. Greekfest. The L.A. riots. Skinheads. Reverse discrimination. And, oh yeah. O.J.
All because of what black is to white, white to black.
But what is that? Fear? Mistrust? Anger? Resentment? All of the above?
I don't know. I need to know. We need to know.
I need to know, What is it about a deserted parking lot that makes me prejudiced towards blacks and not in the checkout line at Food Lion or in a movie theater?
What is it that worries me about Louis Farrakhan? Al Sharpton? Maybe Jesse Jackson?
What is it that doesn't worry me about Martin Luther King, Jr.? Colin Powell? Maybe Malcolm X?
I need to know if we really need a Miss Black USA? A Million Man March? Equal opportunity guidelines? Even the NAACP?
Isn't that even more proof that we are a people divided?
Sometimes, I want to say: Beam me up, Scotty. Get me outta here.
And sometimes I wonder why we all just can't call a timeout, say: game over. Acknowledge that yes, blacks and whites have had their differences and yes, both sides have been at fault. But hey, let's forget all that. It's in the past. Let's start over.
This isn't rocket science we're talking here. At some point and in one form or another, we're going to have to write off our differences, forget the past and finally let the healing process begin.
Of course, I am from Whitebread, America.
I've never been faced with what it means to be a minority. What it really means.
I've never had to worry about finding my next meal. Or dodging a bullet. Or living in a housing project. And my only gang experience has come from the Boy Scouts.
What do I know about what it means to be a minority?
I don't have all the answers. I'm just one guy trying to make sense of it all. I'm looking around at what's been happening and wondering if things really are as bad as they seem. I'm reading the papers and wishing it was fiction. I'm watching television and looking for Rod Serling.
I'm standing in a deserted parking lot telling myself that this person needs somebody. Anybody.
And that's good enough for me.
``Looks like you could use some help.'' MEMO: Mike Kernels lives in Chesapeake with his girlfriend and Siri the Wonder
Dog and lately has been trying to find peace on Earth. by CNB