This past 4^th of July, I entertained at a restaurant in the Stockyards. I’ve entertained at this restaurant for many years and thus, have made scores of friends with many of the restaurant’s clientele. As I took a sip of beer, a gentleman (a Hispanic who I know) sitting at the restaurant’s bar summoned me. I walked towards him and his lady friend and asked him if I could help him. He then said, "James, I asked my wife (who seemed Anglo) if she could tell what you were. And, after she heard you sing in English she couldn’t determine if you were a Mexican or an American." "Well, I can settle that for her real quick," I responded. "Lady, I’m a proud American first and foremost, who is of Mexican ancestry! As a matter of fact, in my predominately white community in Lake Worth today, I, along with my other lone American Hispanic neighbor, David Reyes, were the only ones in our block flying Old Glory. How’s that for being a patriotic American? And, if you don’t mind me asking, did your supposed Mexican husband displayed his Mexican flag today?" Obviously embarrassed, she laughed at my answer and apologized for her husband’s inappropriate question. I left her with this question, "Lady, have you notice how Mexicans die in the desert just to come here and how they tremble when apprehended and sent back to the country they and your husband love so much?" She nodded in a yes gesture as I left.

In this ridiculous practice in which we pigeonhole others as to being this or that often makes us appear stupid and ignorant. And sometimes we have to realize how wrong we are when we stereotype others. Ladies, gentlemen, embarrassed, as most of us should be, I, sad to say, am no different. Just this last week, this headline appeared in my hometown newspaper, "3 suspects arrested in slaying of taxi driver" in Denton County (Sun. July 5, Star-Telegram). The taxi driver was later identified as Hooshang Vatanpour, an Iranian, who fled Iran for religious freedom. Without giving it much thought I told my wife, "Angie, I bet this poor man’s killers were blacks!" After I finished reading the article, I, sort of with my tail in between my legs told my wife that the taxi driver’s killers were two white men and one white female (Noah Whitehead, William Stephens, and Mariesha Ohifs) who brutally slashed and burned the driver’s body. So much for me knowing who kills and who doesn’t.

While employed at General Dynamics in the 80s, I, and Tony (can’t recall his last name), a black executive, became close friends. Tony and I often discussed politics and cultural issues pertaining to blacks and Hispanics. He often took issue with my articles published then in the Star-Telegram and Dallas Morning News. Particularly when I made reference to blacks being too dependent on government assistant programs and Hispanics having dismal scholastic stats in high school and college. "James, the white folks don’t give us much of a chance to get good paying jobs," Tony would tell me. "Tony, look around and tell me why GD hires so many Asian engineers. These guys have been here less than two decades and have made major strides in educating themselves, which opens doors to well paying jobs. Why can’t blacks and Hispanics, who have been here for decades, educate themselves like these Asians? And please Tony; don’t play the race card with me, because today, blacks and Hispanics can attend any school or college they so desire. Tony, sort of disheartened would never give me a straight answer to my questions. All he gave me were lame excuses for blacks and Hispanics."

During that time (1979 – 1981) in Atlanta, Georgia, a serial killer killed twenty-seven black youths, mostly boys 7 and 14. In a conversation with Tony about the Georgia killings, he quickly told me, "James, there’s going to be hell to pay once they find that (unprintable words) white so and so. I hope blacks burn the whole damn city of Atlanta, which is infested with white racist Klu Klux Klan members. "Tony, how about if the killer happens to be a black dude? What then?" I asked. "No way James, there’s no way a black dude would commit such heinous crimes!" he concluded. Well ladies and gentlemen, much to Tony’s dismay, the serial killer turned out to be Wayne Bertram Williams, a 23-year-old black man. In January 1982, Wayne B. Williams was found guilty of murder of two adult men. After his conviction, the Atlanta police declared an additional 23 of the 29 child murders solved. Surprisingly, Tony never mentioned the Atlanta killings to me again, nor sadly, did he ever apologize for the unkind and unsavory remarks he made about whites.

Sometimes, some of us, who are of a different religion, political ideology, color, or race, have to own up to the fact that there is good and bad in all of us. And truthfully, I’m no different as I stated earlier. As I end this article, I’ll give you an example of what I mean. When I worked at Motheral Printing Co., a co-worker, Don Himer, made this comment while reading the newspaper: "James, what’s wrong with Mexicans? Seems that every time I pick up the paper, I read where almost daily a Mexican gets killed in your part of town in the North Side of Fort Worth." Angrily, I retorted, "Himer, let me see that newspaper? I’m going to prove to you that you white guys also kill each other almost daily. As I flipped the pages of the newspaper, I saw this headline in the upper fold: "Man Kills His Wife and Takes His Own Life." I then told Himer, "Listen to this as I read to you: a distraught man, Jose Garcia, killed his wife Maria, and then shot himself!" Himer’s response, "I told you Mexicans are crazy!"