honesty and courage

Yesterday, my first niece requested my help with a school project. Her school is local - and not the same as mine - and one of the classes she is taking is an online sociology course with a professor in Michigan.
Pretty cool, right there - literally broadening her horizons by learning from someone who is not even in the classroom, but is a thousand miles away. No one can say the class is going to be based on "southern" concepts or "Georgia" ideas. I know, no one should say such inane things anyway, but you would be shocked at the number of folks who think "southern" is synonymous with "backwards" or "provincial".
Savannah is a seaport, people. The townspeople throughout the past two hundred years - and more - have been privy to new ideas from faraway places since the area was first settled.
Ahem... what was I saying?
Oh, yes, at lunch yesterday, my first niece had invited me to submit my input so she could analysis the results for her sociology paper. A 1500-word paper. And all I needed to do was answer three little questions and provide examples of what they meant to me.
That's all.
Just three little questions, about the roles of class, race, and gender in my life.
Say what?? Those are not little questions.
But they are important questions. They are questions which affect how we, the people, live our lives, the questions which concern the three moral compasses at the heart of every decision and every reaction in our worlds. These three simple queries speak to the heart of our philosophy of interaction with others.
I commented something to that effect, told her I would even pass along her plea to others on that social media on which she had requested help. Then we finished lunch, she and I and her lovely husband, and went off to run our errands.
I never did turn my computer on yesterday.
Oops!
After I finally came home from running off copies of my Final Exam at the school, mailing off an eBay "win" to my customer, trying to give blood (but I was 17 minutes late to the American Red Cross center, so they wouldn't take me), and buying groceries (after three weeks without doing so and feeling like Old Mother Hubbard of late), all I wanted to do was chill out. Fortunately, "Psych" was on.
(Maybe that should have been a reminder of my promise to her?)
(Maybe the penny in the parking lot at Publix should also have been?)
So I put away groceries and indulged in frozen cherries and a glass of cold milk and watched two episodes of one of my favorite shows. During the commercials, I did stuff around the house and started cooking my dinner and tried to decide what to do for entertainment that evening. (More on that tomorrow, I think.)
At any rate, time marched on and the computer remained off.
Until after 11 o'clock this morning.
Amazing, right?
That time coincides with my receipt of a text from my dear first niece, asking if I had yet completed the survey?
She knew darned well I had not, as she is more fb-connected than I am, but she was being gentle with me.
After all, it was a big-deal survey, even if it did only contain three questions.
So, I answered, as did her longtime best friend.
Here are my responses.

What role has class played in your life?

I was basically raised by a single mother of four. Child support was nonexistent. So, we were poor. As a senior in high school, I opted to join the Navy, as that would secure funds for college. Even though we had no money, I knew Mama regarded college as important for me.

What role has race played in your life?

When I was in the 8th grade, the schools here were desegregated. I am white and every day rumors circulated from the nearby black high school of what folks would be jumped. One day, I was one of three white girls caught between buildings at the middle school and beat up by a group of black girls and boys. I was not raised by Mama to be racist, but she kept me out of school for a week for safety. When I returned, I tried to keep in mind that it isn't the individuals that are the problem, it is GROUPS of people, of any color, that can cause harm.

What role has gender played in your life?

I am female. I have always been attracted to science and math and subjects which have traditionally been regarded as "male". (Try to remember that I was in high school in the 1970's.) In my senior year, I did volunteer work at the local Science Museum, and part of that work was in the electronics shop. I loved that work! So, when I joined the Navy, I entered the Advanced Electronics Field. For all of my classes, I was usually the only female or one of two or three. I even had a guy once ask me why I was taking a job away from a man! I responded that I had bills to pay, too, and deserved to have any job I was qualified for. I still encourage EVERYONE to have the job that best speaks to them, regardless of gender.

Done! And now you know a little more about ME, my dearest Christina!

And, gentle reader, now YOU know a little more about me, too.