I have a few thoughts regarding racism in general. Okay…this is a tough subject, but I am going to jump in anyway and give it a shot.
I am not one for labels of any sort i.e. - middle aged, Baptist, yuppie, hippy, liberal, and so on and so forth. For some reason our society has developed an idiotic propensity for casting the whole of the world into labelized standards and generalities. This does not set well with me.
First, everyone, no matter who they are, no matter where they are from, no matter what color their skin has an incredible amount of potential within them. The potential to create, to learn, to teach, to grow, to do anything they dream of doing.
Were I to allow people the luxury of slapping a label on me then I would be a nearly middle-aged, single mother, atheist, with only a high school education, a dead-end job, and not much to look forward to in my future. Well, I say forget that! I am more than the sum of my social labels. I am fun, creative, loving, learning, growing, and dreaming of a brighter future with every step I take.
All of that being said, I would like to post something that most people would be too intimidated to post for fear of being misunderstood. (This is a bulletin that my daughter received on her My Space account earlier today. My commentary on it will follow directly.)
You call me, “redneck”,”hillbilly”, “slaker”, “Cracker”, “Honkey”, “Whitey”, “Gringo” and you think it’s OK.
…But when I call you coon, jiggaboo, Kike, sand nigger, rag head ,Towelhead, WOP, Camel Jockey, Gook, slant eyes or Chink you call me a racist.
-You say that “whites” commit a lot of violence against you, so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live?
-You have the United Negro College Fund.
-You have Martin Luther King Day.
-You have Black History Month.
-You have Cesar Chavez Day.
-You have Yom Hashoah
-You have Ma’uled Al-Nabi
-You have the NAACP.
-You have BET.
-If we had WET(white entertainment television) …we’d be racist.
-If we had a White Pride Day… you would call us racist.
-If we had white history month… we’d be racist.
-If we had an organization for only whites to “advance” our lives… we’d be racist.
-If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships…you know we’d be racist.
-In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights…you would call us racist.
-Did you know that some high school students decided to make a club for only the white students because the other ethnicities had them… they all got sent to court for being racist but the African American, Latino, and Asia clubs were not even questioned.
-You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you’re not afraid to announce it. But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.
I am white.
I am proud.
But, you call me a racist.
Why is it that only whites can be racists?
Now watch, I’ll be a racist for posting this
Alright, so it’s pretty clear to me what this person is trying to say. It’s blatant and in your face, but let’s stop for one second and think about some of these things. I will never ever try to down play any amount of persecution suffered by any race of man based solely on the color of their skin. It is an atrocity more debasing IMHO than any other. I’d also like to add that no matter what the color of your skin you should be proud of who and what you are. Not a single race of human being on the face of the planet can boast the claim of a lily white cultural or societal history.
To my own shame I have (in the past) used the “N” word in an extremely hostile moment just following one of three consecutive burglaries of my home. While some of you might think that makes it okay for me to do such a thing, you would be dead wrong. It was an irrational statement made by me and will ever be a dark moment in my memory.
Just the same, I have two children ages 13 and 16 that currently attend public schools. Until my children started attending public school I am quite sure they had never heard the “N” word uttered from anyone in my home. Despite that fact my children walked into their respective schools and were bombarded with a seemingly endless display of racial bias. Both of them have reported being called all sorts of racially hateful names based on their skin color, and to date only my son lost possession of his reason long enough to utter a hateful term in return. He was not excused for his reaction to the situation by either the school or me.
So here comes this bulletin as seen above. I am forced to contemplate some of the things that are said here. I am not offended when anyone of any race feels the desire to be proud of or celebrate their heritage based on the color of their skin. Why is the converse not true? Don’t mistake me here! I feel no need to organize a march or establish a special group based on the color of my skin. But, what if someone else does?
In case anyone hasn’t noticed the population is slowly but surely becoming less of a white majority. Does this bother me? Not at all. What bothers me, is that my son can be subjected to punishment for uttering hateful racial terms while the other child is not so much as reprimanded for the exact same thing. Excuse me, is that a logical or reasonable message for either of the children involved? I certainly don’t think so.
While I will not be running around wearing my “I’m white and proud of it!” shirt, I am still proud of who and what I am. I am a good friend, mother, lover, gamer, and human being in general. I do not equate the word good with perfect so don’t go thinking this is some vulgar display of my elitism either. There is no such bone in my body. We are all equal and should be treated as such by one another in all things.
