racism

I walked to church with a Mayan man about my age yesterday.  He told me that he was an author and a poet.  I asked him if he liked living in Benque.  He said that he did because he was more accepted here than in Belize City.  He went on to explain how the dominantly Creole population of the coastal areas often consider those of Mayan descent non-Belizean, and hence a sort of second-class citizen at best.   The belief is that most Mayans are illegal immigrants from Gautemala, and basically don't belong.  My friend has been mugged and beaten up a few times; he used to visit Belize city to recited his poetry but not anymore.  I was taken aback by all this.  I guess I thought that racism was only something that white people indulged in, but the must be a narrow view.

I'm not going to color this with too much more commentary, but there it is for your consideration.