My friend, Elizabeth, has a wonderful new son-in-law named Juan. Yesterday a woman talking to Juan on the phone told him that he needed to lose his accent because that could be a problem for him now. Juan doesn’t have an accent. He was born in the USA. All the woman knew about Juan, really, was that he had a Spanish name. Elizabeth had a chance to meet the woman when she came to her house later. Elizabeth let the woman know that they like Juan just as he is and there’s nothing at all he needs to change about himself. Elizabeth’s family uses the “safety pin” for each other – “We need to bring out a safety pin for… ” – to show support for each other and listen to each other.
By the way, my friend, Elizabeth, is a Republican and voted for Donald Trump. We do not agree on politics, but we share the same feelings about bigotry and hatred, and I’m really glad to know her.
She gave me permission to share this story.
“The weapons of bigotry, ignorance, envy, fall before an honest heart.”
– Mary Baker Eddy