The New Switcheroo (Rube Goldberg and His Amazing Machines #2) by Brandon T. Snider

Author:Brandon T. Snider [T. Snider, Brandon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Abrams
Published: 2022-07-20T00:00:00+00:00

“I would’ve been Rube George, the boy with two first names. Doesn’t have a catchy ring to it, so thanks for avoiding that mistake. What happened next?”

“We stayed, with the intention of working our butts off and making the town better. We got involved. We spoke with our neighbors. We started committees and councils. Pearl’s parents, Marcus and Monica, felt the same way we did, and together we helped build a better community. Things changed because we made them change. Everyone felt it. New families moved to town, and we became the welcoming and inclusive neighborhood we wanted to be.”

“Wait. This bigoted town you were talking about was Beechwood?!”

“Yep.”

“But I don’t get it. If the town changed, then why is bigotry still happening?”

Max wiped the sweat from his forehead. “I was not expecting to have this conversation until you were much older, never mind tonight, but we’re here, so let’s keep the ball rolling.” He gulped. “Bigotry and racism are baked into a lot of stuff. They’re like machines, actually. There are lots of different parts, and when they all work together, the results are very harmful. Really terrible. And these machines have been around for a long time. They’re part of history, sadly. But the good news is that these machines can be disassembled. Brave people have been taking them apart, piece by piece, with activism and education. Others just smash the machines. I say do whatever works. The key, though, is understanding how these machines operate so they can never be assembled again.”

Now you’re talkin’ my language. “My teachers never said anything about racist machines in elementary school. Why didn’t they teach me this stuff?”

“Some adults like to roll the bad stuff out over time. That way you’re not overwhelmed as a seven-year-old. Though I suppose if you can handle the tooth fairy not being real, you can understand systems of oppression.”

“What are systems of oppression?”

“It’s when laws and rules are made that treat certain groups of people unequally and unfairly in our society.”

“Why would anyone want to do that?”

Max sighed. “I’ve asked myself that very question. I’m afraid the answer is upsetting. You see, Rube, the cruelty is the point. These people want others to suffer. It makes them feel powerful. They’ll say it’s just a simple matter of disagreement, but it’s not. Trust me. I’ve confronted plenty of grinning bigots in my day. They come in all shapes and sizes. The truth was best summed up by a writer named Robert Jones Jr., who said, ‘We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist.’”

Max could see the confusion on his son’s face. “It means we can disagree on stuff like movies and baseball, but if you vote for and support people who want to make others suffer and take away their basic rights? Then we have a real problem.”

“So you knew about this all along? When were you going to tell me?!”

“When the time was right.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.