Good White Person

This morning I rode my bike to the farmers market. As I rode down my street, I said hello to and sort of ended up riding with another kid on a bike. He told me I didn't need a helmet, and asked why I was wearing one.

I figured I would never talk to this kid again, so I told him a friend of mine was hit by a car on her bike and killed. This did happen, but she wasn't someone I knew personally.

I also told him about the deal with my mom (she pierces her nose, I wear my helmet). He asked me how old my mom was, and said that he thought that was pretty cool.

He told me his name is Rashad and asked me if I go to school, and guessed Russell Sage. I had to explain about Goddard and how I don't live in Vermont. "Oh, but you're from there?" No, I'm from this area. I grew up in Saratoga.

"That explains the accent."

Accent?!?

"Yea, sort of country..."

Rashad goes to Hudson Valley. He grew up in Rochester. He is a year older than me, and is impressed that I'm where I'm at in my studies.

At one point he asked me if I had a boyfriend / why I didn't have a boyfriend. I started to explain that I'm looking for someone who loves Jesus and this isn't easy to find. At this point, his demeanor changed a little bit. A little more serious, a little less flirty. He asked me if I had ever looked into Jehovah's Witnesses.

I explained that I'm really opposed to this, because it is a "works" religion - being that you have to be on your toes at all times making sure you're doing everything right so that God will like you. I really believe that it should stem from faith, a love of God, a love of Jesus causes you to want to do things in a certain way. Like, I love my mom so I wear my helmet, because I wouldn't want to be dishonest to her. I don't wear the helmet because I think that not doing so will hurt my relationship with my mom, even if I believe that to be true, it isn't my motivation.

OK, Jehovah's Witness bashing and explanation over.

Rashad told me that he really wanted to be all religious (for the record, I never in my life set out to be 'all religious'), and that he questioned a lot of different religions. He asked me some questions, of which I explained my beliefs or explained why I thought the answers were irrelevant. Then he asked me two questions I found really interesting.

He asked me what I thought about a white, pointy nosed, blond haired, blue-eyed Jesus.

Jesus is from the Middle East, he wasn't from Western Europe. It is a pretty ridiculous notion that he was a white guy.

He asked me if I believed in Adam and Eve, and what I thought about them being white.

If we all came from Africa, and I believe that Adam and Eve started it all, then it follows that they were African.

"African? You believe that?"

Yea, I mean, it makes sense.

"You're a good white person."

I questioned him and he elaborated "There are bad white people and good white people, and there are bad black people and good black people."

This made me think of something John Green said today, about how we like crime shows because they make good and evil very simple and clear cut, when in reality it isn't so simple.

This conversation also is significant because I had spent the last packet discussing race relations.

Synchronicities abound.

Combined Life Insurance

It's just a familiar story until it happens to you. And now that it is over, it doesn't seem so bad.

After work today, unable to located the paycheck I was going to go cash, I settled down on my futon to drink some soda, flip through some library books and watch some tv-on-dvd. Suddenly!

There was a knock on my door.

Now, granted, if he thinks I'm home, my mailman will knock, but his is a pleasant knock-knock-kna-knock-knock, and this knock seemed to have an agenda. Perhaps I heard it wrong, so I opened the door tentatively.

Also, it should be noted that this morning I noticed that the rear window of my crazy neighbor (who attacked one of my perfectly sane neighbors) had been smashed. For this reason, I was also hesitant to open my door. Perhaps she would blame me, and try to kill me.

But no, just two men in suits. Clean looking. Jehovah's Witnesses? Maybe. I can handle them.

So I give them a moment of my time, and they ask how they were fortunate enough to catch me home at this hour.
-Well, you see, I am a substitute teacher. Four pm isn't an unreasonable time to be home.


Before they get into their schpeal, they ask me if they can step inside for a moment.

I've always been polite, and it was really cold out, and I felt too awkward to tell them that I wasn't comfortable with that. The next thing I know, these two men are inside my not-clean-enough-for-visitors house, spreading their insurance plan on my coffee table, sitting in the only place on my futon that isn't covered with library books and magazines. After I sit through the whole bit, asking questions when necessary (sorry Jackie, no pre-existing condition coverage), I assure the men that I am well insured. CDPHP. I'm not going to need their plan. To this, the one doing all the rambling whips out a laminated article from the Times Union Feb 2005 discussing Insurance Companies going bankrupt. Or something like that. He did a lot of yammering while pointing to numbers in the article.
-No, really, I'm insured up the Wazoo. I understand that you have this to offer, but I have really good health insurance, and life insurance, and everything else.

To be polite, and considerate for my friends who could maybe use some insurance, I ask him to leave me some literature. Apparently since the policy is so low, they do not advertise. They have no literature to leave me. He also tells me that he doesn't think I understand, that theirs isn't really life insurance or health insurance, it is more of an accident insurance. What will be more valuable if I had an accident and was unable to work and pay my small bills? $2 a week in the bank or $75 a day?
-I think at that point, I could borrow some money from my savings, or from my mom. Honestly, it doesn't cost me that much to live.
Oh, oh, but surely you are saving to live more comfortably. You wouldn't want to jeopardize that.
-I live pretty modestly. I don't imagine ever wanting it differently. I like making things. It doesn't really cost anything to make things.
Well alright.
-So I'm not going to do this. You have no literature to leave me?
No, we have a website.
{Goes to leave}
So what is it, combined.com?
-combinedny.com

The one who has been doing all the yammering is pissed, and the other one seems to feel bad and shakes my hand and tells me to have a nice day.

Way to shove yourself into my house. Also, who goes around before 5pm knocking on doors? What sort of clientele are you looking for?

I'm beginning to understand the feeling of having one's home violated.