Racism is Unfortunately Still Alive
I have written a couple of blogs on racism and today I feel even sadder that yet another man of color was brutally treated and denied help despite his pleas for help. I did not know that in the back of some patty wagons did not have any seating and that it was so unsafe and cruel to be transported in one. Even a young lady on the news this evening complained about it when she was apparently arrested for protesting stating that she was just flinging about inside a police wagon. In her words "I was scared to death". I can only imagine what it would be like and find it personally inexcusable of our country and of our police departments. We really should be ashamed as Americans that things like this incident with the latest death of a person while in police custody, another person dying at the hands of our police, a man of color.
Men of color are the highest percentage of men in jail. It is no wonder when they are labeled and targeted so often, sometimes being accused of crimes they did not commit. As a man of color who has been targeted before based on race I know what it feels like and how absolutely upsetting it is. I will never forget when I was going around the block in my former area where I lived looking for parking. It was a late night and it was harder to find parking on weekends. After five minutes I was stopped by a cop who asked me: " Whose car is that?", assuming the car could not belong to me, a Hispanic man. It was the third time this happened in the same car: a BMW.
Racism is very much alive as much as it ails me to announce it. I can see the remnants of racism and have a theory that now it is done either very quietly, very boldly or couched in a joke, the way that my former partner's family demonstrated their lack of respect for people of color. They are just one example and what I thank God for is that none of them are cops or have any power other than to make fun of people they are more likely scared or jealous of. It is hard to say why people base their feelings of hate on race. I don't understand it and don't care to. What I think is that it needs to come to an end of we will continue to have incidents where people of color die or are wrongly accused and in jail for years before we realize they are innocent.
What can we do to help put a stop to racism? Most of all we must understand that racism is based on fear and stupidity. We must not be the ones to be in fear nor will hatred of racists help us. We must become a culture that is empowered and it is already happening. As people of color we must insist on being respected while making our way to the top. This means doing the very best we can do to own businesses and to continue to educate ourselves. We must work on becoming like Ghandi and forgiving others and taking our own journey. Nothing can stop us if our intention is to do good and not just to get back at sick persons who perceive us as inferior or wrong. We must work on knowing we are complete and that we are beautiful as we are, not being in situations and relationships that minimize us or hurt us and surrounding ourselves with loving and kind people. Racism is alive but we don't have to be focused on it. Moreover we must be focused on empowering our culture and our people, seeking to be centered and at peace inside of our own circle.
Men of color are the highest percentage of men in jail. It is no wonder when they are labeled and targeted so often, sometimes being accused of crimes they did not commit. As a man of color who has been targeted before based on race I know what it feels like and how absolutely upsetting it is. I will never forget when I was going around the block in my former area where I lived looking for parking. It was a late night and it was harder to find parking on weekends. After five minutes I was stopped by a cop who asked me: " Whose car is that?", assuming the car could not belong to me, a Hispanic man. It was the third time this happened in the same car: a BMW.
Racism is very much alive as much as it ails me to announce it. I can see the remnants of racism and have a theory that now it is done either very quietly, very boldly or couched in a joke, the way that my former partner's family demonstrated their lack of respect for people of color. They are just one example and what I thank God for is that none of them are cops or have any power other than to make fun of people they are more likely scared or jealous of. It is hard to say why people base their feelings of hate on race. I don't understand it and don't care to. What I think is that it needs to come to an end of we will continue to have incidents where people of color die or are wrongly accused and in jail for years before we realize they are innocent.
What can we do to help put a stop to racism? Most of all we must understand that racism is based on fear and stupidity. We must not be the ones to be in fear nor will hatred of racists help us. We must become a culture that is empowered and it is already happening. As people of color we must insist on being respected while making our way to the top. This means doing the very best we can do to own businesses and to continue to educate ourselves. We must work on becoming like Ghandi and forgiving others and taking our own journey. Nothing can stop us if our intention is to do good and not just to get back at sick persons who perceive us as inferior or wrong. We must work on knowing we are complete and that we are beautiful as we are, not being in situations and relationships that minimize us or hurt us and surrounding ourselves with loving and kind people. Racism is alive but we don't have to be focused on it. Moreover we must be focused on empowering our culture and our people, seeking to be centered and at peace inside of our own circle.
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