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Hi Mr. Samadust, I read your review of Montana called "Wide Open Spaces and Narrow Minds" about a year ago, and it has stuck with me ever since. I felt compelled to write to you about it. First, you are a very good writer, otherwise that review wouldn't have stuck with me so long. I am white girl, born in Montana but split my life between MT and California, so I certainly can't say what it is like to be a black man. In your story, you talk about feeling a predjudicial vibe from the people in the cafe, and seem to relate that to the people of MT. I don't think that is a Montana-only phenomenon. Predjudice is everywhere and for many different reasons. I remember one time, a girlfriend of mine and I were on a road/camping trip in Montana in the early 90s. We pulled in to a grocery store to get supplies, and we were in a fancy car. We were dressed in neon and spandex as was the custom of the time (or at least in CA). Our hair was big. As we walked thru the parking lot, every single person stopped what they were doing and stared. It was like we had landed in a spaceship from Mars. In the store, the vibe was even more pronounced. No one talked, they all just stared. At the checkout, the checker glared at us without a word as if we had come to rape and pillage their town. I was mad, after all, I WAS a Montanan, how dare they look at me with distain? Some time later I realized it was just that it was obvious by looking at us that we were not locals. These people spend their whole lives in these small towns with all the same people and very little input from the outside world. When someone who does not look like they do comes into their territory, they register a little shock. It isn't that they are going to be hostile to outsiders, just that it is unusual to them to see black people or neon people or whatever happens to come along. So please don't think of the people of Montana as being prejudice against black people. They are predjudice against everyone! Ha, just kidding! I think it is just a case of ignorance in the strict sense of the word, meaning lack of knowledge and unaware. You can find dicks everywhere, I'm sure you know. But there are a lot of really great people in Montana, hard-working, self-reliant, with a great love of family and country. I wouldn't hold one experience against all of them or we are no better than the worst of them. The End.
One Love,
Kim |
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