I stuck my foot in my mouth HARD, 30 years ago ....

[Sixpac440]

Recent events have brought up an old buried memory, I have never told anyone.

I was in my early 20's. I worked with Al, a black man. He was 45 or so, married with kids in college, a well respected guy.
He came over to my press and we talked for about 10 minutes. We talked about his life and accomplishments and goals as well as mine.
Then out of nowhere I looked over at him and said:
"It's good to see a black man could get so far in life"
He looked at me and said:
"You have allot of growing up to do", and walked away.

I was stunned, I couldn't believe I had just said that. I wasn't raised that way.
I lost a friend in the blink of an eye over a very insulting comment.
The lump in my throat and pit in my stomach told me I had done a great injustice.

That moment changed my life forever.
Never again would I ever deliberately look down on others who are different from me in any way.
And I never join in when someone else does it.
If prodded to join in I make it clear that I don't agree with them.

Al, if you're out there, I truly am sorry.

 

[Havasu Dave]

Funny, I was talking with my Mother yesterday on the phone- we are not close- and I told her that I'd always tried to live my life without any regrets.... but that I'd failed, since climbing past my mid-fifties has shown me many mistakes I now regret deeply.

Making mistakes is how we learn. From a positive perspective, your experience with Al put you in a position to do more good than otherwise might have been possible.

 

[ZR9B]

Not a race thing but...When I was a paperboy in the late 70s, on veterans day the paper had to be out of the station by 5am ....the paper station was in this old mans garage Mr Kushna (sp?)....anyway one vets day I said...Why the hell do we have to be out of bed so early on vets day...needless to say after 40 min of lecture from a ww2 and Korean war vet my outlook had changed . This was a rule set by Mr Kushna

 

[Tom S.]

Recent events have brought up an old buried memory, I have never told anyone...

We all have regrets. But perhaps in this case you were simply trying to acknowledge that his accomplishments were all the more significant because life had thrown him some challenges and obstacles that you hadn't faced in your own, and the words just came out wrong.

 

[byron ness]

I doubt there is a person on this earth that has not felt he/she has not done or said something wrong or harmful to another person. To say it out loud to the board says so much about you, and serves as a reminder to all of us to be mindful of what we say to others.

Thanks for posting

 

[TT]

"I stuck my foot in my mouth HARD, 30 years ago."

Sounds to me like 1985 was a growth spurt in your life. Humility will knock you flat on your tail, pretty quick. I would not feel ashamed, he did you a favor by simply walking away - shaking his head. Lead by example with the pride knowing you're a much better person based on his teachings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjhGQOpK57I