Ethnically Speaking from Creators Syndicate

Ethnically Speaking, April 12 for 04/12/2008

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Dear Larry: I heard Barack Obama's speech regarding race relations in America, and I still am puzzled.

I do not understand how he can have hatred or latent hatred for a country that has been so good to him and his family. I could understand if a person who is poor and struggling to make ends meet thought that way, though I wouldn't agree with that person. I can see how a person who is at ...

Updated: Sat Apr 12, 2008

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Ethnically Speaking, April 19 for 04/19/2008

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Dear Larry: I think the idea of offering Spanish in kindergarten is good. Spanish is a language that is very useful in this country and abroad. I think other languages should be offered, as well.

When I was a teacher about a year ago, the principal floated the pipe dream of offering Ebonics classes at a secondary school in Harlem. I promised to vote yes if she agreed to offer one of the ...

Updated: Sat Apr 19, 2008

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Ethnically Speaking, April 26 for 04/26/2008

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Dear Larry: I was appalled to hear the hateful words that came out of the mouth of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama's former minister.

One of the things he said is Hillary never was called the N-word. Maybe not, but I'm pretty sure she has been called a whole lot worse. Words of any kind, when they are used to inflict emotional harm on a person, do hit harder than fists.

He ...

Updated: Sat Apr 26, 2008

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Ethnically Speaking, May 3 for 05/03/2008

Sat, 03 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Dear Larry: As an adult man, how do you show to others that you are not racially biased? Especially when it is so hard to make friends in general, much less to reach out to others outside your circle.

It's very hard to have a diverse group of friends when people seem so busy with their own lives. And when you are a married man with kids, you are much more involved in group activities tha ...

Updated: Sat May 03, 2008

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Ethnically Speaking, May 10 for 05/10/2008

Sat, 10 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Dear Larry: I was reading your column this morning regarding the man who is trying to create minority friendships. I really liked your answer.

I don't have many minority friends, and I am not a racist. I don't have minority friends because those friendships just haven't blossomed because of my way of life.

I have home-schooled all three of my children since birth, and we just don' ...

Updated: Sat May 10, 2008

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Ethnically Speaking, May 17 for 05/17/2008

Sat, 17 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Dear Larry: I know you get lots of mail about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, but I just feel compelled to ask you a question that has stayed on my mind for a long time.

I understand that the Rev. Wright and his following believe they are suppressed by white people, white government and anything that is white-related.

What I don't understand is instead of complaining about what is wrong ...

Updated: Sat May 17, 2008

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Ethnically Speaking, May 24 for 05/24/2008

Sat, 24 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Dear Larry: By what measure do you base your statement that "whites feel guilty"? In her thoughtful letter, Robin indicated that her family owned slaves and she felt no guilt. There is no recorded history that my family ever owned slaves, however my father was about as bigoted as they come. I felt sad because of his shortsightedness; I did not feel guilty.

In my many conversati ...

Updated: Sat May 24, 2008

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Ethnically Speaking, May 31 for 05/31/2008

Sat, 31 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Dear Larry: As a responsible working student and new dad, I worked double shifts on the weekends and had to drive home late at night through a resort community. Going home always proved to be a nightmare.

Within a two-year period, the police pulled me over 16 times. After they stopped me, they would ask whether I had been drinking. Frequently this would happen after they tailgated me for ...

Updated: Sat May 31, 2008

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Ethnically Speaking, June 7 for 06/07/2008

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Dear Larry: It has long been my belief that after the end of the Civil War, when the freed slaves generally were excluded from mainstream American society, they developed their own. This was not an overt action, but an evolutionary action, which is still under way, along a parallel course with white society.

I believe that exclusion is the source of many of the racial tensions we experie ...

Updated: Sat Jun 07, 2008

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Ethnically Speaking, June 14 for 06/14/2008

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Dear Larry: I am in a dilemma and don't know what to do. Even in these tough economic times, my wife and I have been blessed to make a great amount of money. The town we live in is very small, so everyone knows we are considered well-heeled.

We decided that because we have no children, it would be good to leave a legacy by making a difference in our community. We decided to help five fam ...

Updated: Sat Jun 14, 2008

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Ethnically Speaking, June 21 for 06/21/2008

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Dear Larry: Someone gave me a copy of your column about the child who needs to have her teeth fixed because they are decayed. I live in a small town, and my child's teeth are not the best. I think you must be talking about me.

First of all, there are two sides to every story. Yes, my child's teeth are rotten, but they are not all her permanent teeth. I have tried to get her to take bette ...

Updated: Sat Jun 21, 2008

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ETHNICALLY SPEAKING for 06/28/2008

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Dear Larry: What do you do when you observe someone breaking the law?

I was in a major department store buying some clothes for my little girl, when I observed a woman and two children stealing clothes and putting them in a shopping bag. They were actually looking through the store and picking out the clothes they really liked. They did not try to hide the fact that they were stealing. T ...

Updated: Sat Jun 28, 2008

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Ethnically Speaking, July 5 for 07/05/2008

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Dear Larry: I was at a baseball game recently. Before the start of the game, the national anthem was played, and a black gentleman was on the field singing with such passion it almost brought tears to my eyes. While he was singing, I noticed most people were not paying attention. In fact, there were only a few people who seemed to adhere to the proper etiquette.

There were people who wer ...

Updated: Sat Jul 05, 2008

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Ethnically Speaking, July 12 for 07/12/2008

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Dear Larry: I need some help with my marriage. I am trying to understand my husband, and I need a man's point of view. My friends are all women, and they tell me to kick the bum out. I am confused and don't know what to do.

I am 35 years old, and this is my first marriage. I love my husband and want to make our relationship work, but he just will not work outside the house.

We hav ...

Updated: Sat Jul 12, 2008

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Ethnically Speaking, July 19 for 07/19/2008

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Dear Larry: I have a question about working parents who bring their children to their places of employment.

I was in a Starbucks at 11 p.m., and an employee was sitting at a table working on a sign. She had her daughter with her. I estimate the child to be about 2 years old. The little girl was crying and screaming the entire time I was at the store. She was crying most likely for attent ...

Updated: Sat Jul 19, 2008

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Ethnically Speaking, July 26 for 07/26/2008

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Dear Larry: How should I respond to "interested parties" who want to discuss how I am planning to vote in this upcoming presidential election?

I do not appreciate people prying because I am not the type of person who likes to discuss my political views, especially with people who are not close to me. But many of the people I talk to feel they must bring up politics.

This ...

Updated: Sat Jul 26, 2008

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Ethnically Speaking, August 2 for 08/02/2008

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Dear Larry: I want to respond to the column dealing with a minority shoplifter and the column about a black man being called an Uncle Tom at a baseball game for standing while the national anthem was played.

There is an old saying: "What's wrong is right." It seems as if in so many situations dealing with minorities, the right thing to do is made wrong, and the wrong thing some ...

Updated: Sat Aug 02, 2008

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Ethnically Speaking, August 9 for 08/09/2008

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Dear Larry: I don't know whether I have a problem or not. Maybe I am being too sensitive or too possessive; that is what my wife thinks. I need your opinion.

I have been married for 17 years to my childhood sweetheart. We got married right out of high school. We have four biracial children. I am black, and she is white. We always have done things together as a family. I always had though ...

Updated: Sat Aug 09, 2008

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Ethnically Speaking, August 16 for 08/16/2008

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Dear Larry: I am white and have been living with my black boyfriend for three years. We do not have any children but want to start soon because I am 32 years old and he is almost 40.

No one in my family has married outside of our race, and I have no experience with an interracial relationship besides mine. The only complaint I am getting from my family is from my 83-year-old grandmother. ...

Updated: Sat Aug 16, 2008

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Ethnically Speaking, August 23 for 08/23/2008

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Dear Larry: I enjoy your column, but I feel you were off the mark in your response to the man who wrote to you concerned because his wife started expressing an interest in separate vacations. I agree with you that it is important for families to take vacations together, however I think it is also important to have some "away time."

This woman, who has been married since she gra ...

Updated: Sat Aug 23, 2008

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