Overcoming Injustices

Overcoming injustices

This is the story of a girl who hated stereotypes and labeling. The girl grew up in a loving family with a nice home. There was a swimming pool and a decorative garden, making it seem like a Spanish villa. It was located on a corner making its existence even more regal.

The father, with a PHD, was a top executive and often had guests from other countries coming to America in order to complete deals and develop pharmaceutical drugs that would be used in the company product line. The mother, a gourmet cook, would have parties to entertain the visitors. She would make exquisite foods and they would have meals that included guests from England, Spain, South Africa, Sydney, Australia, India, Japan, etc. Sometimes, more countries would be represented and sometimes less.

The girl’s house was one of the more prestigious homes in the community. The girl had a gift as a hostess for the parties. She would easily converse with the guest from Australia, talking about his sailboat excursions at the same time carry on a conversation with the man from India enjoying the family descriptions in a ‘broken English’ dialect. She was quite comfortable with the tall man from South Africa and laughed with the Asian woman.    

The problem arose when, at school, the girl was mortified to think that anyone would think she was more affluent than others. She would often downplay the dinner party so as to cover-up any idea of being well off.  The girl made an effort to include everyone. If someone would refer to her affluence, she would laugh it off. She hated to be thought of in that way so she made an effort not to talk about the parties or her father’s position.

Another problem she would have was that of stereotyping any person or group. She would not stand by and let the ideas of a few become an issue. If someone were to say something derogatory toward any culture, even as a joke, her blood boiled and she would point out the opposite to be true.

The girl’s siblings did not appear to be as offended by the negative things said. Everything came to an abrupt halt when this girl was in an automobile accident. She could no longer find the words to stick up for the accused cultures. She stuttered now, but knew how she felt; no-one listened to her influence any more.  The girl only observed things and couldn’t do anything about it.

The parties became fewer as her ability to communicate became less. Her parents took a big hit financially due to the girl’s hospital and doctor bills.

The girl still felt a loyalty toward any oppressed group or peoples. Life went on.

When it came time for the girl to graduate high school she did not have the bond that she once did with friends. Two of the foreign visitors from her dad’s work accompanied her to a few graduation parties/open houses for the people that had once been close.

A tall, thin, black man, Iggie Ignacia, from South Africa, and a shorter, white man, Gordon Baker, from Sydney, Australia laughed with her as they entered homes. These adult men were two of the people who would forever be remembered in helping the girl’s High School alone feelings at graduation. Two new friends, if just for a week will always be remembered.

One day, the girl, who was not a child any longer, discovered writing. Finally there was an outlet for her inner thoughts. Could she use it? Would this be a venue to address treatment of others in school? Even with her spelling errors, she wanted to say what she felt about the injustices in this world.

The way I would like this story to end, is still being written. The girl can choose to be self absorbed, listening to her fears and inabilities and endless mistakes. Or, with the help of God through her friends, she can continue to learn from her mistakes and keep trying.