I’m not saying there are certain areas of the country that are a little more parochial than others, but…
There are times when I hear conversations that are either the result of complete obliviousness, or of a rift in the space-time continuum going back at least fifty years because they’re said or written with no hint of knowing maliciousness and yet are jaw droppingly wrong at one end of the spectrum, through to achingly blinkered, and my brain struggles to find a starting place to respond.
Examples can range from the supermarket signage that proudly labels an aisle as containing “Foreign Foods”; or pubs checking if a woman really asked for a pint, rather than a half-pint, of beer. Today’s jaw drop was hearing the following: “Oh yes, I met a woman bishop this morning. Did you know they allowed women bishops? They’re training all sorts of people you know, even coloured people and people from other races.”
I’ll draw a veil over our collective responses to that. At the end of the conversation I may have repeatedly sworn in disbelief a few times. The thing is, it underlines the need for continuing conversations rather than polarization when it’s coming from a place of ignorance.
It did blindside me a little, I must admit.
TimMaidment.Com 