Lunch Counters

"Sometimes it's not about marching. It's about sitting and refusing to move."
W, a volunteer at the Friendly Neighborhood Center for Extreme Computing, talking about something in connection with the 50th anniversary of the lunch counter sit-in in Greensboro NC.

RantWoman was, um, taken aback. First, she was trying to exhort W to participate in an opportunity we all have to practice conflict resolution. RantWoman admits she is considering taking the class at the alternate location so she can practice first on people she does not have to see every day. W, on the other hand, is quite happy to practice close to home. He is just reacting badly to RantWoman being too insistent. RantWoman can handle that. Well, she THINKS she can.

The conflict resolution moment was, though, a distraction for what RantWoman is about to say. RantWoman does not have a lot of time at this second to do a lot of research. RantWoman is simply going to note a couple facts and then ask her readers to weigh in.

The celebrated sit-in occurred in Greensboro NC. RantWoman has been to Greensboro NC. RantWoman formed two impressions. The first is about how southern cities deal with snow, with not quite as much distress as Seattle but close.

The second is of a community at the junction of several strands of US Quakerism. RantWoman is cautious about making too many inferences from the tourist level intro blurbs. RantWoman also knows of other moments when Quaker good intentions and capacity to think highly of themselves on social justice grounds far exceed actual facts on the ground, so RantWoman is posting this observation in a spirit of inquiry, query, seeking Light:

If Greensboro is such a Quaker mecca, why the heck did the place have segregated lunch counters in the first place?????

What say ye all?