Here’s an Idea — Let’s Stop Being Black or White…
Most recently, after the events involving George Floyd, I was asked the question by a dear friend of what they could do to help alleviate the pain impacting so many.
I must admit that this was the first time I’ve been asked that question in the aftermath of another unarmed man killed by police. For anyone that knows me, they will agree that I indeed have an opinion about everything. Let me first set the stage to explain my view and decision making philosophy.
“Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate” by William of Ockham known as Ockham’s Razor that translates to: “one should not increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything.” Or, in my words, Don’t make shit more complicated than it has to be.
So in that vein, I will answer the question.
As I can feel empathy in the question, I give my answer with compassion. The thing is, no one truly knows what to do at that moment. However, life keeps giving us those moments to do something. Unfortunately, we slip back into the same tactics of the past.
In the past, we, Black people, had a physical object that stood in our way. We could see us sitting in the back of the bus; we knew we couldn’t eat at certain restaurants or drink from segregated water fountains. We knew that we couldn’t play in the same sports leagues or go to the same schools. Hell, when I was born in 1964, there was only one hospital in the city of Baltimore that would allow the birth of a Black child in its building. The dogs, the fire hoses, the indignation, and the burden of feeling less than a person always thrust upon your shoulders were a reminder that we could easily feel, taste, touch, see, and hear.
The grand idea then was to march and do it peacefully. There was no strawman back then, it was an actual physical thing to overcome, and we did to some degree. You see, those things can be legislated, and they were. The problem today is that those barriers still exist in the hearts and minds of those who wish to maintain the status quo from yesteryear. Their morality and humanity haven’t changed, and you cannot legislate either morality or humanity, nor can you reason with unreasonable people.
To some, protestors make those who feel protested to look at themselves with a sense of discomfort. So instead of acquiescing to today, they double down on the nonsense. It has always been easy to acknowledge that one’s experience in these united states is different than yours and not take it as an affront to your experience.
The point I am making in this is that it’s time to try something new. Let’s do something radical for a change. Let’s stop looking at this as a Black and White issue. When you look at this as a problem negatively impacting people of color, you are acknowledging that there is a difference among people, therefore, making equality and equity impossible. When you adopt the concept of Whiteness and Blackness, you are also adopting the biases that portray one as superior and the other inferior. At the end of the day, this is a people issue. Some human beings are treated less than because a particular tribe of other human beings has deemed so.
On a side note, I did a DNA trace a while back. I am, like most of you, a mutt. Nowhere in the 9 different broad categories of my ancestral composition (African, Asian, European) was listed as, “Black”.
To maintain the idea of supremacy, there has to be an us vs. them, him vs. her, Black vs. White, etc. Also, and more importantly, to allow some to play the role of superior, one would have to play the role of inferior. One can’t exist without the other. The labels are used to define the groups as some monolithic entity as opposed to living, breathing human beings, individuals with different degrees of experiences. And right now, this group of people called “White” is believed to be superior to any other group. It is tightly woven into American culture.
It’s quite interesting when someone believes this superior nonsense when the only requirement for that status was to be born — no different than anyone else. There is zero personal accomplishment in that.
I understand that removing the color label is a significant mind shift. Still, we are looking at people murdering each other over the difference in a degree of melanin, location, looks, language, etc.
This artificial construct of Whiteness is a sickness. It is a mental disorder to believe that because you look a certain way or have physical characteristics, you are inherently superior when nothing in this world supports that idea. Blackness, Yellowness, Redness are all different degrees of this mental disorder.
So, what do you do? Here’s your homework. Be mindful that you have a responsibility to love humanity not only because of your human DNA but because of your spiritual DNA. In the end, we are all the same. Integrate and elevate your mind beyond our human frailties to a position of a higher power. Help integrate and promote others to that reality as well. It starts with you. If you believe that you are simply a (pick your color) human being, you are limited in your ability to help humanity. You cannot solve a problem by being the problem. You must elevate above it to truly see it.
Once you get it, inform your family, then extend to friends and challenge them to do the same. It’s reverse engineering racism. If it started in the home, it has to die there. Touch all you come across by merely expressing who you now are — a smile, a nod, an acknowledgment that you see, and recognize other’s humanity. It goes a long way. Dedicate yourself to love more, smile more, and be a blessing to someone else.
Once we get to that point, we can finally close the crayon box of human colors. Yes, it’s a tall order, yet here we are. Nothing else has worked. Yes, there will be some who disagree and need to hold onto the lie. However, they cannot exist in a world of peace and love. They will either adapt or go away peacefully or otherwise.
Keep in mind, the children are watching to see how we adults handle this.
