Deep questions

Had an interesting conversation while driving Sam to school yesterday. Listened to Weird Al's song "Bob" (the lyrics are all palindromes) and music from the Incredibles sound track (which has made him want to learn trumpet).

Sam pointed out a sign with a fire on it announcing a fire fighters' fund raiser. I told him how at traffic lights they go around with boots asking for money.

He said, "Like that poor man you gave money to." (You never know what will make an impression.) I said yes, and a moment later he said, "Sometimes poor people can have white skin."

Suddenly, unbeknownst to him, it's an Important Conversation.

I asked him, and he said poor people usually have brown skin. I asked why. He wasn't sure, and turned it back on me.

First I said that when your parents are poor you are more likely to be poor.

Then I added that sometimes people are unfair to brown-skinned people. He got excited about that because that triggered all sorts of other things he knew, like how African-Americans used to have to go into theaters through different doors, and sit in the backs of buses.

I asked if he knew how that stopped, and he excitedly explained the African-Americans just stopped doing it, even though some of them went to jail. He said there was one woman who stopped it first. "Rosa Parks?" "Yes!" He mentioned having learned this from a book at Lexie's house, though I know we have also read some books about racism. I mentioned slavery a little, and then we moved on.

Very interesting.

The photo, by the way, is his Sunday-school class, last Sunday.