
Well, on Tuesday, my orthopedist (who also happens to be my husband’s surgeon), informed me that the x-rays he took 2 weeks ago confirm I have a fracture in my right foot. I have been sentenced to 6 weeks in an Aircast Walking Boot. OMG!!!
Now I’ve heard of walking a mile in someone else’s shoes, but did I really need to take this so literally?
Although I had been in pain for months, this “solution” is in many ways worse than the fracture. It has been less than a week and I am already complaining about the inability to move quickly, the stress on my shin and knees, and the inability to wear cute shoes during the summer. But these few short days have given me a brand new appreciation for what my husband has been through.
Are you willing to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes?
There has been a lot of discussion on the web recently about race and racial tension. Much of the recent conversation has been fueled by Paula Deen’s recent admissions and the search for justice in the Trayvon Martin case. It never ceases to amaze me how emboldened folks are by the anonymity of the internet – they post things that surely they would not say in a room full of people.
Yesterday, I read a post suggesting that since slavery was so many years ago, blacks should “just get over it.”
Oh if only they could walk a mile in the shoes of black men and women! (And I’m not talking about Jay-Z and Beyonce]
Anyone who would state that blacks should just “get over” slavery does not understand the horrors that were the backbone of that institution. Men and women were forcibly carried from their homelands to become the property of men who treated them like animals and hated them because of their black skin. Slaves labored hard in the fields, lived in shacks, and were fed scraps. They were beaten to within an inch of their life and only provided medical care if they were in danger of dying, so their master would not suffer financial loss. Families were ripped apart, sold to the highest bidder, women raped and forced to “breed” more slaves for their owners.
And yes, hatred based on skin color still impacts the health and well-being of black communities today.
Are you brave enough to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes? Better check the history first.
~ One drop of knowledge can ripple through an entire community