Disclaimer: As I
thought about how to begin to write this piece, it occurred to me how
upfront and almost brutal the topic was and still is to this day.
Racial differences haven't calmed down throughout the years, they've
just morphed with the social mentality in the various generations
that this issue has been handed down from. When I attempted to peruse
for some intellectual citations to include in my blog post, most of
what I saw was very biased....so I'll conclude this prelude to my
article and continue based upon what I have reviewed from the past
few years when I've studied this topic.
When we're children,
we inherently already know what we believe before exterior forces
come into play within our conscious self. We obviously can tell who's
different from us due to the plain and obvious fact that they look
apart from us, but that's where the separation ends. Our straight
forward innocence encourages us to form connections with other beings
despite any differences in mentality, ethnicity, economic status,
family relations, etcetera. It's the same with religion,
extraterrestrial life, Santa Claus and the monsters under our
bed.....children create an idea from raw emotion and their basis of
truth. Not from a professor from Harvard or a highbrow member of
Congress, or even from a pastor, but from what they see and hear and
feel. Admit it, you never looked at a child of a different color and
shied away just due to that fact. You played hide and seek, laughed,
cried, fought with them like anyone else because they are just like
you on the inside. It's only when we develop a little further and
begin to listen to those that we surround ourselves with that we
start to lose that capability to bond with other humans
instinctively. And with that understanding, we can finally discover
the culprit for the continuance of racism: our relatives.
The sad truth is it is our parents and our grandparents that pass
down their views when we're still psychological determining what we
understand that contaminates our open-mindedness.
While the process of
child development is so important, the racism displayed by the
generation of those raising the upcoming adolescents feeds into the
mental growth and blossoms into a continuation of racism in today's
age. Anyone who believes otherwise isn't grasping the concept that
psychology plays a formative role in our development as a person. We
learn from those prior to us due to the fact that it's a natural
phenomenon to replicate that which we have seen before. Now there are
those that have overcome that hurdle, but it takes a large group of
people that believe coherently in the same conviction to accomplish
anything on a mass scale. When we have we have groups such as the
National Black Child Development Institute stating that “we
also know that on nearly every available measure, we can be confident
that Black students are being taught by less qualified and less
effective teachers over time [1],”
then we have a lot of work ahead of us. Why you ask? When I looked
for a National White Child Development Institute...you know what I
found....nothing. Zilch. Why is this? Because we as a people still
segregate ourselves. Hey I'll be honest, when people like Pastor
Thomas Robb are stating things such as “ There
is a race war against whites. But our people – my white brothers
and sisters – will stay committed to a non-violent resolution. That
resolution must consist of solidarity in white communities around the
world. The hatred for our children and their future is growing and is
being fueled every single day. Stay firm in your convictions
[2],” then I have no use for single-minded Caucasians either.
Orientals, Hispanics, Blacks, Whites....we all commit the same crime.
We look at one trying to size one another up continuously attempting
to retaliate for previous wrongs we believe the “other” has
committed. We believe we're getting the short end of the stick. Which
is the utmost idiotic idea when one reflects upon that life gives us
all lemons one way or another.
Now
I'll be rather forward about this next statement. I heartily believe
that the black affirmation movement has considerably increased since
President Obama has taken office and that there is a lot of “white
guilt” coming into play now more than ever.
In
order to adequately display my meaning, I'm going to break the two
mentalities at a whole different level. In addition, I am well aware
that I'm using the races as “umbrella terms” and that not all
white people will believe what I claim as their perspective. The same
relates to the black perspective as well. Possibly this tactic may be flawed due to the fact that my ethnicity is white, but
since I have discussed this subject deeply with my colored friends
who explained their points of view I'm going to attempt at a basic
level.
*Note:
I am not stating this to sound racist whatsoever. I am simply
pointing out the very differences that juxtapose the two races
against one another.
From
a Caucasian's Perspective:
There
is this belief that the nation (because lets face it no where else in
the world other than maybe South Africa had to contend with racism as
much as the United States) now has to compensate for slavery as an
apology, a.k.a “white apologeticism.” I won't say that those of
color have more opportunity, but I will state for a fact there are
programs that are more accessible to black people than to those of
white descent. If I say something to a person of color that's
contradictory to what they believe, I immediately become a target to
be called a racist and that I'm arrogant. They think we get better in
everything, but really what I see is that an employer is more likely
to hire a black person nowadays
due to their color.
In areas where there are a majority of black people, there is a level
of animosity and hostility towards white people and often making me
uncomfortable and equally hostile due to instinct. Due to black
affirmation, anything that occurs to a black person automatically
becomes a hate crime, even if it is justified, but the reversal of a
black person hurting a white person isn't classified the same. Why?
From
a Black Person's Perspective:
Not
only did our ancestors endure slavery, but the humiliation of
segregation afterward was denigrative and horrendous. We are people
just like you, but you treated us like dogs commanding us and calling
us words like the N word to make us feel like we're unintelligent.
You received all the best, while we received the scraps. We're a
community and we stand together stronger than ever. Even now, white
people receive opportunities such as the better schools and houses
and jobs. You hurry to your car when I walk down the street and make
sure to let me notice that you've locked it because you think I'm
going to break into your car. Why should I even try to be nice to
white people when they just typify me by my color and treat me like
dirt?
Of
course those are just attempts at conveying the generalized
statements from two sides of a story over the years. There are going
to be more underlying issues that occur within those perspectives,
but I tried to cover the major points of contention that both races
have with the other. In simple terms, we set one another up for
failure. I have been very blessed to have friendships with many
colored people that I value for their ideas and their beliefs, and I
find that they can be so sincere and truly zealous in life in most
everything they do. Like if you've ever been to a black church,
you'll walk out that door at the end of the service literally dancing
and screaming to the sky because of how fired up that church gets.
It's absolutely fantastic. We have so much to learn from one
another....how AMAZING would it be if we could absolutely overcome
racism and labeling one another to really converge as a community? I
can't even imagine, but I'd love to see it happen in my lifetime.
As
a final note, I'm truly asking anyone who reads this to remove their
personal emotions and read it based upon the statements I wrote. I
really wrote this piece because of how much this subject really means
something to me. I know that racism is slowly fading in its own
respect, but I still see so much of it that I felt compelled to write
a post that brought some few key points to the table. Please feel
free to comment and share your perspective....as long as we keep it
civil and positive please!
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