At the urging of one my my nearest and dearest friends I'm starting this blog. This will be a place where I can express my thoughts on various subjects I like to ramble about such a society, politics, nerd culture and all things geeky, racial issues, family and relationships, comedy, movies, music... ya know, just bit sof everything.
I am a light skinned black man in my mid thirties, just so you have some basic knowledge about me up front. The title of this blog is, of course, a joke. In my experience dark skinned black folk pick on light skinned black folk and vice versa. Just a bit of fun, ya know? At least that's what I tell the dark folks to keep them subdued until the Light Skinneded Revolution.
*ahem*
Anywho, may latest pile of rantings are about race relations. This shouldn't be a surprise what with the news of late. No, I'm not hear to discuss the Zimmerman verdict, even though this discussion spawned from it. That's a huge pile of mess revolving around some pretty terrible laws. What I want to talk about are the ways in which people of color are viewed in this country. The things we have to deal with every single day of our lives and how so many people are oblivious to it. So right now I'm going to copy the Facebook posts that made my friend tell me to start this thing.
If
you are a person of color, especially a black person, you have lived
your entire life under a dark shadow. Not simply the shadow of have but
the shadow of fear. You've had to grow used to people on the street
either watching you a little more closely than they should or avoiding
eye contact with you altogether. You've had retail and restaurant
workers treat you a bit more curtly than they would
others. You've been brought up to not truly trust the police and to
simply keep your head down and submit as soon as possible lest the worst
happen at the hands of the law.
It is a horrible way to live
yet we all go about it in our own ways. Some have had it far harder than
others and have suffered through more mistreatment than others. Some
have over come and stayed happy and others have given in and live with a
cold stone of bitterness and anger within our hearts. This is the way
of the world.
Now with this verdict, letter of the law or not,
we feel that dark cloud get a little bit darker. We see a man acting out
of fear and killing an unarmed black male child and we see his
acquittal broadcast around the world. We see this child's death declared
as justified and now we are the ones that feel fear.
These are
my thoughts. I type them with a heavy heart. I type them to put my
feelings out there into the world so as to get them off my chest and
perhaps get some sleep tonight. Should you feel the need to respond with
something you know I will disagree with and will upset me please think
twice and don't do it.
------------
It
makes everyone uncomfortable but that's all the more reason to sit down
and have a conversation about race in this country. A real conversation,
not just pointing and blaming. From where I sit I see two distinct
sides that need to talk to each other. And not everyone is in those two
camps as there are a great many that get it and can talk about it and
those people are pretty damn great. However I don't want to address the awesome people right now.
On one side we have white people. They are angry because they didn't
cause the racial rifts in this country. They didn't own slaves or enact
Jim Crow Laws. But those people don't understand that they still benefit
from a country built on all of those. A country where the society came
up around those abominations and shaped the way things are today. They
may not be the cause but they are living in the problem and they are the
solution. Just take the time to realize that most people aren't simply
pointing and blaming. Most black folk just want others to understand
what this country is like for them. The white experience and the black
experience are vastly different and one is entirely unfair from start to
finish. I won't elaborate on details but it would be helpful for these
uninformed white people to just sit and talk and read and understand.
And care. Don't feel pity or any patronizing thing like that, just
understand and care. Then you become the solution.
Black
people, on the other side, need to do a bit of the same. In that those
that are angry need to see that a great deal of white people simply
don't realize what we go through on a daily basis. Through no fault of
their own either. Yes there are the racist jack asses but there are so
many that aren't and just don't know. We have to welcome them and talk
with them and walk with them. We have to understand their frustration at
what seems like a lot of finger pointing and blaming. White guilt
shouldn't be a thing unless they are personally responsible for
something. However they should be aware of the effect their heritage has
had on others. Not responsible... but aware. Awareness can bring about
change.
These are my thoughts and mine alone. These are the
thoughts I'm working out in my head and I don't suffer any delusions of
being 100% right. If my mind can be changed on subjects I welcome it. I
do not pretend to speak for anyone else. I do not bring up other races
because I don't have the experience to do so though I welcome and
encourage others to bring those experiences to me.
Have a good weekend, friends.
So that's what got this little ball rolling.
Everyone in life can make a difference and I guess I've decided to start trying to make one of my own. I've decided to start having this conversation with people. Mostly online but I would love to do it more with people offline as well. I started this on a forum I've been a part of for over a decade now and it seems to already be doing some good. That makes me happy to see that it can indeed bring about change, especially in those that want the change, those that are already good people and want to be even better.
I think that's enough for one night. In the meantime I have to make this blog look a bit better.
G'night, people. Thanks for reading.
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