Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Steve B. was a monster this morning in our singles match and wiped the floor with me 15-0, 15-13 in our league match. He's improved so much and is simply a better player than I am right now. I have two weeks to figure out an appropriate counter-strategy. I put everything away. I had my opportunities, but I wasn't hitting the ball as hard as I could and I was slightly off just enough for him to punish me for my mistakes. I could have taken the match to a tiebreaker, but couldn't get those last two points. Painful.
After racquetball, I spoke with Clark Edwards about his life for an hour across the street. He's one of my health club friends who's lived a very interesting life. Born in Florida in 1935, he's seen so many changes throughout the country, especially in terms of race. He has several stories of racism and discrimination that most white males can't even imagine. He's friends with Dorian, whose story I'm also listening to. It's helping me come up with an angle on my own experience with race from the white male perspective. There isn't a lot written about race from the highly privileged and predominately antagonistic white male perspective. I can add my take for what it's worth, since my own blinders were removed back in the 90s when I participating in the PBS documentary Facing Racism and realized for the first time how much privilege comes with my gender and the color of my skin. There's so much material here, especially during the Obama years. It's another example of taking one step back for every two steps forward.
Steve B. was a monster this morning in our singles match and wiped the floor with me 15-0, 15-13 in our league match. He's improved so much and is simply a better player than I am right now. I have two weeks to figure out an appropriate counter-strategy. I put everything away. I had my opportunities, but I wasn't hitting the ball as hard as I could and I was slightly off just enough for him to punish me for my mistakes. I could have taken the match to a tiebreaker, but couldn't get those last two points. Painful.
After racquetball, I spoke with Clark Edwards about his life for an hour across the street. He's one of my health club friends who's lived a very interesting life. Born in Florida in 1935, he's seen so many changes throughout the country, especially in terms of race. He has several stories of racism and discrimination that most white males can't even imagine. He's friends with Dorian, whose story I'm also listening to. It's helping me come up with an angle on my own experience with race from the white male perspective. There isn't a lot written about race from the highly privileged and predominately antagonistic white male perspective. I can add my take for what it's worth, since my own blinders were removed back in the 90s when I participating in the PBS documentary Facing Racism and realized for the first time how much privilege comes with my gender and the color of my skin. There's so much material here, especially during the Obama years. It's another example of taking one step back for every two steps forward.
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