Living in the bible belt and being a closet atheist is the closest thing I can come to when I try to put myself into the shoes of the non-white privileged. I have learned to keep my beliefs to myself the hard way. My non-religiousness is tolerated but frowned upon. It is not something that is obvious. Not that many people know - oh who am I kidding. There is a very active grapevine in my community. I have lived here almost 30 years. I am probably the local atheist just as Mrs. Anderson was the one Jew. I'm an outsider. But still, I'm privileged. Very privileged. Just like many southern communities, ours has a large African American population. It pains me to see how we waste the talents of so many with dismissive attitudes about race. I know teachers who hold biases and beliefs that truly affect their ability to teach and yet can quote the bible with ease. This is random and rambling. Needs more thought.
