WASP Suppremacy

 

My mother was not a white supremacist. She was a WASP supremacist and believed that she was superior to anyone who was not a White Anglo Saxon Protestant. At the same time she believed all those lower beings be they black, Jews, Orientals and even Italians were entitled to be treated equally when it came to education, employment and the law, just not socially.

She was a devoted Republican who believed McCarthy was making America safe from Communism.

How she married my father, an immigrant French Canadian, I will never understand. 

Her family had arrived in 1636 but if you asked her nationality, she'd say she was English. My father's ancestor had arrived from LaRochelle, France in 1640.

My parents disliked each other before and after their divorce.

Despite the P in WASP, we weren't a church going family with the exception of the church Christmas Fair and the occasional supper.

My father did take me to a Congregational service when I was six. I was bored and thought the "snacks" served were not very interesting.

When I was nine, my father sought permission to take me to the Catholic Service on Palm Sunday. That Palm Sunday is coming up this week triggered these memories.

The day arrived. I was thrilled to be spending one-on-one time with my father. 

As we were going out the door, my mother said, "Don't be afraid to the bloody statues, Dear."

Inside the church I looked at the statues and was as disappointment in their lack of bloodiness as I had been in the "snacks" three years before.

How I grew up liberal and open-minded I have no idea. I'm just happy I did. My mother's views have helped my understand the Magas and rights of the world.