During the current legal challenges and heated debates over several states new, rigid anti-immigration laws (pending), I have been reminded over and over that we all (especially us Southern “church ladies” would not know what to think about other people all around them, all the time, everyday, in every setting, without including thoughts that fit every definition of PROFILING! This has disturbed my inner balance more than I would like with pangs of sadness and disappointment in my “ladies”. WHY DO WE NE–EE–EEEE–EEED TO CLASSIFY OTHERS IN OUR OWN MINDS? Why is that such a seeming requisite? Well, I think it is a whole lot of insecurity, a whole lot of secret unnecessary fear, a tad(?) of smugness, and a tad of needing to “pray aloud on the street corners”. So, I felt much better after lunching at my favorite church lady’s establishment(she projects not one whit of a profiling attitude!) and observing the following:
MOHAWK CUT AMONGST THE HAIR-SPRAYED
The Mohawk-cut struts with his cute, well-toned
young self amonst the
Hair-sprayed lunchers
clean in his
N.W.A.–STRAIGHT OUT OF COMPTON
rip-sleeved tee,
Careful to swivel
away from each and every
Lifted sweet-tea and Diet Pepsi’
leaning on the counter so lithely
To pick up his mama’s order
while many $60.00 tinted heads
Oh so pucker-lipped gaze most carefully
down on their barely touched salads.
His mama had ordered the cornbread
and collard greens and a whole
Chocolate Sin layer cake, the same as I
had taken for my mother-in-law’s birthday!
Guess which parts of the above scene perked me up the most!
granbee 
Nov 10, 2011 @ 11:06:48
I love the contrast – the mohawked young man picking up his mama’s HONEST order among the $60 tinted heads (such lack of pretense!) And of course I especially like that his mom ordered the Chocolate Sin layer cake, but I digress… 🙂 This poem is wonderful on so many levels!
Nov 11, 2011 @ 03:40:50
Bless you, Betty, for your insightful and kind comments. The eye-witnessed contrasts I described here truly helped me get past useless anger at the constant mental profiling on the part of so many around me recently. Yes, I live in Alabama: go figure! But, I am “not from around here”, go figure! P.S. Even my nother-in-law enjoyed that Chocolate Sin layer cake provided for her birthday last year!
Nov 11, 2011 @ 16:14:05
mental profiling of those around us is something that simply comes with the environment. many people simply do what society expects them to do in order to not be judged. most of us simply do not have the courage and pride to be themselves. personally, i find that to be quite a sad thing
excellent poem! and i bet that cake is a marvel 🙂
Nov 15, 2011 @ 02:52:42
Yes, the cake is always a marvel, everytime my friend makes it! I am intrigued that you not only see courage being required to just “be” but also pride? I would love to hear more about this!
Nov 15, 2011 @ 04:40:50
Fabulous.
Nov 15, 2011 @ 05:01:22
Thanks SO much. This one word means volumes coming from you!