Yes, today is the often overlooked holiday of Loving Day. This day celebrates a case that abolished laws preventing interracial marriages.
You see, Triple S and I are an interracial couple. It is funny, I nearly always forget this. It just is, and everyone I know is used to it. However, every once and awhile, someone will actually bat an eyelash, and then it is kinda brought back into focus for me. Luckily, we have never really had any serious problems; more just funny reactions. Like when I went to Panama with Triple S, where "everyone" dreams of a bodacious gringa. Of course, they all dream of blondes (which I am not). Or the time we were in a small town in Taiwan and I realized a kid and his father were staring at me. Triple S said it was because I was a white American. When we lived in FL, I did get worried one time. We were out in the country and there were a lot of confederate flags, on houses and cars, and folks carrying shot guns across their trucks' rear windows. Yeah, I told him to put on a hat while we drove through. It was a little scary. It can all go so wrong, so quickly, and without warning.
Well, it is good to celebrate a holiday. This holiday is good for us. It is about us. Not about imaginary beings made up for kids, not about kids celebrating their parents, basically it is a holiday that doesn't have anything to do with kids. Kinda like Flag Day. Why can't Hallmark get a hold of these holidays and leave Father's Day and Mother's Day alone?
...............
On a related note, I have not seen the crazed and jittery posts about the approach of Father's Day that I saw with Mother's Day. I know my husband is increasingly upset about this. I am sure the other Dads are too. I am anxious about it myself. I dread Triple S having to face this day. It just is not fair to him. He doesn't deserve to be without his sweet, precious daughter. Oh, she would have been Daddy's little girl and she would have had him wrapped around her finger. (She would have learned that from the best).
Well, at least he and I can celebrate Loving Day, which has such a nice, positive name too.
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5 comments:
I've always thought it was amazingly appropriate that the plaintiff's name in the case that legalized interracial marriage was "Loving."
Happy father's day to Triple S. I know it's not happy, but..
I recently read an article about Loving Day & the legal case behind it... & I agree with Niobe, what an appropriate name in all ways!!
I grew up in small towns on the Canadian Prairies where (native Canadians aside) there was not much diversity (the odd Chinese restaurant owned by Chinese people). Even my Italian husband was considered pretty "exotic" among my relatives! I now live in Toronto, one of the world's most multicultural cities, & multiracial couples are very common. I know my mother will comment sometimes when she comes to visit that we're the only two white people at the bus stop, etc. I don't even notice it anymore. I'm not saying there's not friction among the various groups -- there is -- but I think that the more you're exposed to different cultures, the more you appreciate the richness of our differences -- and also realize that we really have more in common than not.
And happy Father's Day too! I agree, it doesn't get as much play as Mother's Day does, & that's unfortuate.
Happy loving day, and final day in craptastic workland day.
I hope today goes well.
Yes, I think its pretty odd the stark difference between the lead up to Mothers day and Fathers day. I wish both of our husbands were celebrating the way we imagined it last year.
My husband and I are of different races and while visting my brother in Memphis we decided to bypass the interstates and take the scenic route all the way to Cincinnati. Driving through the south off the beaten path had me a little nervous each time we stopped for gas. After all, the KKK was founded in Tennessee and I definitely felt the lingering tension.
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