Racism

I know for a fact that I’ll step on toes with this one, but it has to be done….first off, I’m not about to throw history facts at you. For one, the facts will probably be incorrect and two, this blog is for me to state my perspective on certain issues. You can use google and Wikipedia for the play by plays and history lessons.

Racism, I strongly believe is something that you’re taught. No one comes out the womb hating a specific race. “Monkey see, monkey do.” Kids see and hear more than we give them credit for. Think about it, that’s how they learn to talk, walk, eat, drink, etc because they’re either watching or repeating what you are. Let me rewind for a minute because once your kids start school, they’re in a different environment learning from not only the teachers, but from the other kids as well. Fast forwarding, that’s where you as a parent need to step in and watch out for the suspicious activities within your kids. Fast forwarding some more, once most kids hit middle school and definitely high school, their eyes are open to a lot of things and again, as a parent you have to create that relationship to where it’s okay to talk about those things.

Granted, there are bad people in this world. Notice how I said people. African Americans went through slavery, white people of the different cultures went through the Holocaust period, and Hispanics and other foreigners go through the fear of being deported on a daily basis. As human beings, we all have fear being in the skin we’re in. Although, it may not seem like it but I honestly believe that one race doesn’t have it any easier than the next. It’s just how the media likes to portray certain situations when there’s a lot of untold, behind the scene stories out there. African Americans can be just as racist as Caucasians​ and Hispanics can be just as racist as the Asians or the American Indian. The problem we have is history. We as society is so caught up in what happened over 50 years ago that we can’t seem to move forward and think about the change we can make in the next 50 years. Something else I also understand is that some may have been in an unforgettable or tragic experience that has caused you to look at a race in a certain way. But just like how if you were to do something wrong, you wouldn’t want someone to ostracize you, so don’t let one person ruin your perspective on a whole culture. Because you do have to keep in mind that the hate and violence on your own race/color is just as bad.

We have so far to go, and I highly doubt it will happen in my lifetime, but unity is what we need. We need it in order to get past all the violence, deaths, rapes, shootings, bullying, stereotypes and then some. They say all it takes is one person, but right now it’s going to take more than that. It has to start in the homes, then in the schools, and so on. I stay optimistic to keep me sane, and believe it or not, it works. Change and peace will come one day. Until then, here’s another challenge for you: meet someone out your race, speak to them and listen to their story because you should never judge a book by its cover.

#StillRising ​