The Joy of Hate :: Example Personal Narratives

The Joy of Hate   About ten years ago my dad was pastor in a church near Charleston. 2 centuries ago, this was a prominent area in the slave industry, and after the Civil War, many harbored hateful attitudes toward blacks. Many families passed down this legacy of prejudice to the present day.   by and by my generate had been at this church for six months, one of the deacons asked him for a favor. Every year the town, mainly the church, held a youth baseball league and the deacon cherished my dad to announce the beginning of the season to the plication and have my older brother play on a team. My father initially accepted the invitation entirely wanted to know more. He asked the deacon how the church had advertised the league and was told that the church did nothing else to publicize the program. Dad thought this a bit strange. Didnt the congregation want as many kids as possible to show up?   When my dad investigated this puzzling question, he didnt like what he f ound. They werent advertising because they didnt want the consentient town to participate, especially the black families. This made my dad reconsider making the announcement to the church. He talked to my mom and prayed very hard for many days. Finally my father decided he would make the announcement and allow my brother to play. Although he didnt want to do this, my father knew that if he didnt, someone else would, and theyd twist it so he would look like a bad guy. There was one condition, though If my father found out any black family who compressed up their electric shaver to play was rejected, my brother would not play. Although he never found any proof of this, my father had a feeling it had happened.   Daddy knew he couldnt change the league, so he decided instead to start a soccer team and advertise it clearly as a for-everyone event. He invited many families, black and white, to sign up their kids, and his hard work paid off. About 80 kids showed up for the first pra ctice, half black and half white. Our entire family rejoiced at the large turnout, moreover soon something strange began to happen. Week by week the number of players declined. By the fourth practice, not enough showed up to even resemble a team.