I was thinking about this yesterday as I was walking alone at night in a bit so friendly area.

This is something I’ve never really openly voiced, but I feel like it’s important.

I grew up in an incredibly racist, sexist, and homophobic family. Since I was a kid I was told that if I see a black man walking alone to put my keys between my fingers, look away, and run. If a black man tried to come after me, try to find a white man to help me, because white men protect young girls against black men.

White women I could be friendly to because they never had Ill intentions, but black women could only be trusted on occasion.

I remember sitting on the other side of the playground to avoid being with the few black kids at my school, until one younger African American girl came up, sat down next to me, and offered me an Oreo. That dumb gesture made me think that maybe my parents were wrong, but old habits die hard.

It has taken the last 15 or so years to try to reprogram my brain to not feel the way I was told to feel.

I swear out of the people who have hurt me in my life, it’s been 95% white guys. The other 5% were white girls. The nicest guys I’ve met in my entire life have been guys that my parents would have hated me spending time with.

It is hard to change, it really is. I constantly regret how long it took me to realize how wrong my parents truly were, but I’m so glad that the people in my life have helped me understand that people’s innate goodness or badness can’t be defined by race or sexuality or gender, it’s defined by the experiences they’ve had and the way they react to it.

Sorry if this is a bit off topic, I just felt like I should share the story..