Talking to Christine

In a story called Split Decision about voters who cross party lines when picking their presidential and senatorial candidates, the Star Tribune managed to find a self-identified white racist who was willing to be quoted:

"I'm done saying sorry for the way I'm voting," Christine [last name removed] volunteers. [Christine], 20, of Duluth, supports Franken "because there's something about his views on community that I like better." But as for Obama, [she] says, pausing, "Well, I was raised Aryan and there's just no way I would ever vote for anybody who's not white. Most of the time I'm a Democrat, but not this time. Not for president."

Christine is 20, from Duluth, and from what I can see of her Interweb footprints, she's into "tattoo's and peircings." She recently began posting to the site deviantart.com with the name deadblood4 (from what I know, deviantart.com is a site that allows people who don't fit into mainstream art to post their work in online galleries to share with others). She has a two-year-old son and was married at 17, though she's now divorced. Her ex discouraged her interest in art. She ended one of her posts with the phrase "Blessed Be" -- which I believe comes from the wiccan/neopagan tradition (although whether she intends it that way, I have no way of knowing).

It's odd writing this, knowing that Christine will probably find it some day. I can't just criticize her statement -- I feel like I need to talk to her. But what would I say? Maybe something like,

Christine, you seem like a person who is searching for connection by joining multiple social networking sites. You say you were "raised Aryan," but I wonder if you know about the full implications of that word. The more I have learned about race, the more I have realized that it doesn't actually exist biologically -- it's something created and kept alive in the minds of people.

If we were speaking, I would encourage you to continue trying to connect with your artwork, but also urge you to do some reading about civil rights -- maybe a book like Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin. You might look into a group called Anti-Racist Action, which was started in Minnesota by young, anti-racist skinheads. Their website's FAQ has some really good information.

Most of all, I just want to urge you to continue to grow and be open to what life has to offer. You're only 20. Don't cut yourself off from the possibility of connecting with 90 percent of the people in our world because their skin is different than yours.

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Update, May 2016: I have removed Christine's last name at her request.