The Help, Stereotypes and my Rambling On

Good writers read! I saw the movie "The Help" and usually if the movie is based on a novel I like to read it first then see the movie. This time was different. I put off seeing the movie or reading the book because of what it represents, a time where white folks openly portrayed their hatred (fear) of black people. The book was based in the sixties which wasn't that long ago but the book and the film read as if the time was back when slavery was open and legal. Why I put off reading this book? I am not afraid of anything, especially my past or history. I cringe at the fact people were treated that way based on silly unfounded notions which equate to fear. When I think about the amount of people who lost their lives because of fear (hate) it makes me sick to my stomach. Have things really changed that much? No. Now more excuses can be made for not hiring, loving or liking a person than race. I'm halfway through the book and I continue to compare the maids lives to my own. The difference is all about choice. Back then, the choices were very limited to women of color. Now, there are many but still for very few. I know many very smart black women, myself included who seem to be stuck. While climbing that ladder it seems that independence and confidence have kept us just under the radar, right in the middle of the ladder. We don't want to step down yet we're stuck and somehow have forgotten how to continue to climb up that ladder without losing a sense of self. I try to live my life stereotype-free, and dealing with people on how they treat me as a person. That is not easy to do when everything is defined by sex and race first then if you manage to get your foot in the door the genius is recognized. Race and sex should not be the basis of your decision whether or not to love, hire or befriend a person. I will be glad when I finish this book! I have people of every race who love me for me and that's how it should be. Period.