There's good news and then there's maybe questionably so good news.
Austrian papers reported recently that the nation's police force now has its first black police officer, according to an American friend who, unlike me, can read German. And, she tells me, this follows the nation's first black postman who, I am told, works somewhere in one of the somewhat rural towns. Before you know it, there might even been a black bus driver!
On Jan. 6, a day before the Orthodox Christmas, Austria celebrated Epiphany, of Three Kings Day. As is tradition, beginning on New Year's, young boys dress like the three Kings (the black king is played by a young boy in black face) and, holding a large star, they go from door to door singing. They are rewarded with sweets and money, the latter of which usually goes to the unemployed or to charity.
Our friend Rick and his wife told us this past Sunday the story of several Januaries ago when Rick was standing at the bus stop. A car of policemen pulled up to question him about a bank robbery that had just taken place around the corner. They arrested him because they said he fit the description of one of the suspects: Mainly, he had dreadlocks and was black. When they got Rick, who is 6'4", to the station they told him that they had a surveillance video of the three bank robber suspects, who were, by the way, dressed as the Three Kings. Rick insisted on seeing the video and lo and behold, they showed it to him. When the police captain saw the video, he just hung his head in embarrassment! The guy they believed looked like Rick had on one of those caps with the fake dreadlocks hanging from underneath. Adding insult to injury, when the suspect turned to the side, he mysteriously and a one-inch ring of white all along the side of his head and then ... AND THEN ... when the suspect lifted his arm to point a gun and his sleeve also rose to reveal white from wrist to elbow. Rick laughed so hard, he said, that he almost fell out of the chair. Hell, I almost fell out of the chair when he told me the story.
Alison
10:43 p.m., Monday 11, January
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