With thunderstorms brewing, little girl and I took daddy to work this morning. While out we hit a few stores to get groceries. Store number three, Sam's, we arrived at just after 8am. I got out my card proceeded to the door and was stopped. "I am sorry I can not let you in until 10am." We turned around and went back to our car.
DD- I thought we were going to shop at Sam's
ME- We will have to come back later today
DD- Are they closed?
ME- No, they are just open for business members.
DD- They are not open for us?
The confused look in her eyes made me think. She did not understand store policies. She saw a store that was open but refusing to let us in and shop. She let it go as I buckled her into her car seat. But I continued to think about it on the drive home. How do you explain to your kids that discrimination is real? That some people will not allow you to do certain things because they think you are not good enough. That you can buy privilege. That some people are not allowed to do certain things because of where they were born, what they look like or the financial resources that they don't have. That in the big picture waiting 2 hours to go to the store was insignificant when you think of the people that don't have food or the one who is homeless on the street. When you see different nationalities refused entry simply due to the color of their skin. When there are orphans around the world waiting for homes, some not chosen for whatever reason.
I can wait to go to Sam's. I can also wait forever for little girl to experience her next taste of discrimination.
Update- So we did not make it yesterday to Sam's. This morning I let my husband take the vehicle as kids were still sleeping and more storms today meant he would not be taking the motorcycle. When little girl woke up she was upset I let Daddy take the car. She said we HAD to go to Sam's to see if they would let us shop today. She said, "Remember, they would not let us shop the other day only other people, we need to see if they will let us today. We need tuna."
1 comment:
oooh ouch. this one hurts. trusting God to give wisdom and protection to our children in all the instances we wish they never had to face.
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