She didn’t know if Axel was trying to poke the bear, or if he was serious. Perhaps he was trying to see if she co-signed with some of the dubious conduct, because that was her lane, and she was Black, too.
“You want to talk to me about Black Lives Matter, Axel? Is this how you wish for the night to end? Really?”
He shrugged and looked rather blasé while reaching for a toothpick and twiddling it in his mouth. No home training.
“Not really. I think it’s pretty self-explanatory what happened with BLM. They’re full of shit, and contrary to what people might think or assume about me, if you ask me, both parties of our government are full of shit. Straight, no chaser. They don’t give a crap about the common man or woman. Voting don’t make no damn difference. All of ’em are going to get in office and screw us over. We’re pawns in their game.”
“I think voting for you is different than voting is for me, because Axel, you and your people always had the right to do it. Especially White men. A White man born with privilege from your birthright alone. Now, riddle me this: if you are right, and if voting didn’t matter, one party wouldn’t be trying so damn hard to stop a certain people from voting, now would they, by having all of these hoops for folks to jump through, and making it harder to reach polling stations? This is happening especially in the Midwestern and Southern states where they know that vote swings harder in one direction than the other, due to the racial demographics, segregation, and disparity. If something doesn’t work, people don’t bother to try ’nd stop you, now do they?”
He regarded her not in confusion, but with an expression of admiration. That warmed her soul. Was he getting it?
“Although we could argue if that’s really the motivation, I see your point. As far as the broader topic at hand, I know damn well racism is alive ’nd well, so let’s get that out of the way. I got friends from all walks of life, and I’ve got some racist family members, too, so I’ve seen and heard it with my own eyes and ears my whole life. What the police did to Breonna Taylor was fucked up in a major way, right here in Kentucky. In our own backyard. Shameful.” She nodded in agreement. “But back to BLM… they got greedy. Just like a lot of groups. Don’t matter the race of the group, or how they start—the intentions might be pure at the beginning, but then, all that money comes rushing in fast, to people that ain’t ever had that kind of money before, and evil takes hold. They’re not above it. Nobody is.” His eyes turned to slits. “Corruption happens all the time. Anyway, continue with what you were saying before we got into politics and all that other bullshit.”
She agreed with a lot that he said—not all of it, but a nice majority. That was refreshing.
“Thank you for sharing your perspective with me. So, as I was saying, it’s my job to know these things, including the touted critical race theory, which is a bunch of crap, amongst other things. This theory directly affects books. My job. Yes, I take pride in that, and I take pride in my work, my family, and my culture.”
“Okay, so, with all that being said, you havin’ pride ’nd all, what would make you agree to a date with me?”
“What do you mean?” She knew damn well what he meant, but she was a bit taken aback that he broached this topic right then in the middle of a serious conversation.
His lips curled in an all-knowing grin that made her feel a bit on the spot.
“Come on now, Dr. Price, you know what I’m talkin’ about. I’m as White as they get. I’m a country boy from Portland, Kentucky, and here you are, this Black woman, into Black American culture—so much so, it’s pretty much your job to breathe, eat and sleep with it.” He moved his big hands around, involving them in his communication. “Seems it might be a conflict of interest.”
He drank from his cup with a mischievous smirk. Maybe he had legit concerns, but he was also a king-sized shit starter. Either way, the question was on the table now, and she was going to deal with it.
“To be completely honest with you, Axel, when I was first approached by a man who wasn’t Black many years ago, and he asked me out on a date, it made me uncomfortable.”
“Uncomfortable? Why?” He unwrapped his eggroll from parchment paper, and began to chew on it. The filling of carrots and cabbage sprang out the fried outer shell.
“I declined to date him based pretty much on that alone.”