There is another factor to Racism that we are ignoring

We already know that racism is like beauty and in the eye of the beholder so when you hear the word, stop looking for a white versus black thing and look for a one race versus another thing.  You see, racism is not limited by color and can infest anyone of any race at any time.  There are even times when racism exists but is so very well disguised that we may call it something else.  Not all who expound racist comments or perform acts of racism is racist however and these trips we up more than it truly should.  We are often judged by one action, one inaction or one comment instead of looking at the entirety of our existence to make that determination.  The truth of the matter is, one can only recognize something if they have experience with it and if you feel as though you can tell when someone is racist, look no further than the mirror my friend because you may be racist as well.

Some people are going to great lengths to try and understand racism which truly makes little sense to me because how can you actually understand an emotion, a feeling, a thought or a belief that you yourself may not harbor.  The first thing we, as a nation, must do is recognize, realize and accept that all of us are racists in our own way.  We have feelings of superiority toward others within and outside of our own race whether it is because we have a better job, a bigger house, more money, a better car and a better group of friends.  We see homeless people as inferior not because we know that they are but because we see ourselves as better than they are simply because we do not have to fear where we will lay our heads at night or where our next meal will be coming from.  We become discriminatory against anyone who we see as less than and if that person ever seeks to enter our circle or present a reasonable argument against what we believe, that is when our true racist tendencies arises.

Another factor about racism that is often ignored is the one delivered to us by that one other race friend.  That’s right; remember when you called a white person racist and the first thing out of their mouths was that they couldn’t be because they have one black friend?  How about not feeling comfortable about calling a black person racist because they have a white wife or girlfriend?  These things are reversible and can apply to any race at any time.  We feel shielded by parading our other race friends in public just to show that when we speak and mean what comes out of our mouths, it could in no way be considered racist because look at us with our other race friend, girlfriend, boyfriend, husband or wife like that is the only evidence needed to prove we are not racist. 

Consider this, that other race person is your friend, husband or wife for a reason and it is not totally because of the color of their skin.  They are there because they agree with you on some of your major core beliefs and if you truly believe that all black folks are lazy, that all white folks hate you based on your color, that all Native Americans are savages and all Hispanics are stupid then so does that friend of your’s.  I often wonder how obvious things are normally overlooked and why we choose to have selective memories when it comes to times such as these and then I remember that I am just as guilty of this as everyone else which is why I can stand proudly and tell you that the thing sticking out of your eye is not a splinter but a huge gigantic telephone pole.