And that is what I get, what do you know about Black people? Well we have our own version, the troubles coming from the same roots. And I agree, some kids never seen food cooked from the raw state. One of the Natives that I was usually partnered up liked wilted lettuce on a sandwich. One of the other guys said he doesn't have to eat it, why does he. He said it reminded him of eating when he was a kid. It tasted so good because he was hungry, he didn't know it was suppose to be crispy. He still eats it because to him it is something he looked forward to when he was a kid.
My dad, you would think that he would have hated eating potatoes because it was all he had when he was in Siberia. He only got to cook the peels of the potatoes that were scrounged from the kitchen scraps fed the guards. To him, the potato meant life. I ate a lot of potatoes growing up.
But people who have gone through bad times got themselves out of it, my lettuce eating buddy also. Had a foreman in the brewery that also said that he can do better. My mother had some topsoil delivered to her place. She invited the guy and his pre-teenager son in for some coffee and some cookies (kid got milk) The kid wanted another cookie but the dad gave him a stern look, one was enough. He was teaching his son manners. In the end the kid was allowed another one. Had a live firing range here for the German army. They shipped solders here, one got involved with a cousin of mine and they eventually got married. At one of the first large family gatherings we had with him there, the table was filled with different types of food, he took a plate of something that was his favorite and put them all on his plate. We wondered who brought him up?
So yes, a lot of us grew up disadvantaged and did things the hard way. Spent only as much money we had, actually less, putting some away for the future. Others did not. When one person puts some away and the other does not and then both hit hard times and the one is hungry, which one are we going to help out? My summer childhood was filled with weeding fields so we could save a few bucks on food. It is expensive for fresh vegetables to be flown up to the reserves. Do what my parents did, Chop down some trees, make a place to grow a few vegetables. Keep a few chickens, rabbits, a pig.
Sure, most of the band members never grew a thing in their life. But their leaders could scrape together some knowledge to convince some of them to try. Plant a seed and see if it will grow. The people are on the land for generations and they have no vision for what they can leave for others? Because in a few generations the sons of their sons will be there. So why not try and make a better place for others? Oh right, "What is in it for me?" At another place I worked, a partner there had a Native neighbor. They were talking over the fence and saw a car pull up down the street, some Natives get out and walk a number of houses down. The Native neighbor said he was calling the cops. My work buddy asked why. He said Native do not walk any farther than they have to, they could have parked closer, they are here to cause trouble. they broke into a house.
So do I sound racist? I am just telling stories from my past, what Natives I had known talked to me about. I have known a lot of people with troubled pasts. The ones that tried to get out of it did. The ones that wanted someone else to get them out of it didn't. that is all I really have tried to say.
