I'm tired, so tired of hearing about racism. Of course I don't want to think that in this day & age, racism & discrimination still exists, but we all know that it does. Still, I'm tired of hearing about it! Before I'm accused of being insensitive, please bear with me.
Rather than whine & complain, let's do something. We don't end racism by stirring people up to anger & protests that often escalate into violence & destruction of property. We put an end to it by stopping the cycle right where we live, through our attitudes & actions & through the things we teach our children.
When we have opportunities to share a teachable moment with someone, rather than stirring the pot & fueling the flames of hatred & anger, we can rise above & be better than those who would spew hatred or behave in bigoted ways. We can be better than that....
When we strive for equality for all, we can stop focusing on the descriptive words that separate us from one another. We can look at each other as human beings, each with the equal right to live, to pursue happiness, to go to school, to work, to succeed.
We are equal. We were made equal. But we will never ACT equal until we stop proclaiming our differences & how we are being victimized by others, & start relating to one another as human beings, with equal rights.
When horrible deeds are done to someone, we can stand up for justice, not because of the race of the person involved, but because a human being was wronged & justice is called for. The sooner we start standing FOR justice for ALL people & stop stirring the pot for SOME people & trying to incite anger, the sooner we can progress & be the civilized & respectful society we ought to & were meant to be.
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Make no mistake. I'm not minimizing the grievous wrongs done to those who have suffered greatly at the hands of racist bigots. Respect is due to all those who have suffered wrongdoing, & in so many instances, recompense is in order for those who have been adversely affected as a result of such wrongdoing. We should ALWAYS strive for justice for those who were wrongly treated. But all I'm saying here is that the time has come to STOP making such noise & stirring people to anger as we are pointing out our differences & focusing on how we (whoever "we" may stand for at the time) have been wronged on the basis of our race (or other protected status) & instead, take steps to unite one another as human beings, & to treat each other with equal respect & consideration. Anything less than that just perpetuates the problem & actually makes things worse.
Let's recall the 1992 Los Angeles riots in which 53 people died & over 2,300 people were injured. These riots were in angry response to the trial verdicts of police officers who were involved in the savage beating of a man, Rodney King, after he failed to pull over for a traffic stop & a police chase ensued. Over 7,000 fires were started, over 3,000 businesses damaged & nearly $1 billion was lost due to these riots. It took the U.S. Army, Marines & National Guard to restore order.
There is no question that Mr. King committed a crime, resulting in him being chased & subsequently stopped by police. There is also no question that the manner in which the police in the case responded to Mr. King's actions after his vehicle was stopped, was reprehensible. But there is a right & a wrong way to deal with our frustrations when we feel that justice has not been served. Rioting & causing death, injury, financial loss & damage to property, is not the right way.
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Granted, there ARE many race-related incidents that should not be occurring nor should be swept under the rug. But if Rodney King, the man who was savagely beaten, can ask the famous question "can we all just get along?", why can't we have that attitude ourselves? Can we all just get along? It's not rocket science. It really is not that hard to do. But it starts with us all seeing ourselves for what we have in common, instead of for how we are different & with us all collectively trying to make the world we live in a better place by working to put aside our differences & focusing on our similarities. We really are not that different & we can do this if we try. We really can.
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