If you know me you know I'm the contemplative type that thinks about important things deeply before opening my mouth. That being said, I've heard a lot of different people debating back and forth. There's a lot of mixed emotion all over our country right now. Allow me to give you my take on it.
Most of my friends on here live in the PNW. A place where we feel disconnected from the events in the South, a place where it is widely believed racism doesn't exist, a place where we feel like we have somehow created this utopia, separate from the “hateful racist southerners.” A place where we say, “At least we're not like them.” The problem with this “at least” is it gives us room to still say and do hurtful things. It leaves room from prejudice to take root, stay in the back of our mind, and influence our decisions and actions.
We may not "be like them" but that is because our racism is subtle. I have experienced it in school where peers have said seemingly innocent things but at the core of their statements there was an underlying message of a division of peoples. Statements that end in “no offense” do not make them less offensive. I have experienced it in my work place where something simple was said. An assumption stating “We're all good here. Nothing needs fixing here. We’re fine” Let me say that we are not fine, everything’s not “ok.” Though the racism here looks different it is still racism and we need change here.
I'm not on here to point the finger. I'm not on here to make you feel bad about assumptions you may have made. I'm not on here to argue. I'm writing this to share with you my heart and tell you that I am grieving for the recent events across our country. Mothers and Fathers who have lost their sons and daughters. Sons and daughters who have lost the very people meant to take care of them. These are faits no one person deserves. I’m not a cop hater. My dad's a cop, most of my family has served in the military. This isn't about that. This is about change and awareness.
We need change in this country. We need change locally in the PNW. We are not isolated from these events and these issues are not too big for us. I don't have the "solution" but perhaps some practical things for us moving forward.
First is our mentality. Our thoughts about race have to change. Let's start with what we think when we hear “black lives matter.” This short phrase has caused so much division. Stop it. The issues we face are bigger than this one phrase. Let's not get distracted from what we all want. Change and an end to racism as we know it. Below I've attached an article because that's what you do when writing;-) But I feel like it does capture the heart of the problem. This is bigger than a phrase.
Another thing, stay connected. When we stay isolated we get lost in our heads, assumption sets in, and dangerous thoughts form. We can’t “fix” this alone. This is a time when communication is vital. When we have break downs in communication it’s really easy to get angry, make judgments, and divide ourselves into different camps of polarization. Keep the lines of communication open. Dialog with your friends and family. Keep your mind open. These events affect whole communities and we have to work together. Keep hate out of your mouth and believe the best about people.
Also, stay informed with good information. Good information is key. Don’t listen to the loudest voice, don’t listen to the angry voices, look and listen for the voice of reason. Our minds are powerful and ought to be used. Take what you learn, observe, and put it to use. Use wisdom. Be slow to speak and quick to listen.
Again, this isn’t a comprehensive list of everything we need to do. This is more a call to rise up, join together, and get stuff done. This is a, “Don’t you think we’ve sat around long enough doing nothing?” I’m saying all of this to myself as well.
To end is a quote from MLK. Because what’s a good rant on racism without a good MLK quote? But it’s one that’s been rolling around my head for some time now. Sometimes to move forward we have to look back and learn from those who have been there before us. Read it and the link to the other article.
Thank you for taking time to read this. I hope you hear my heart throughout all of it.
- Anthony L. McGarity
“We must see racism for what it is. It is a myth of the superior and the inferior race. It is the false and tragic notion that one particular group, one particular race is responsible for all of the progress, all of the insights in the total flow of history. And the theory that another group or another race is totally depraved, innately impure, and innately inferior.
In the final analysis, racism is evil because its ultimate logic is genocide. Hitler was a sick and tragic man who carried racism to its logical conclusion. He ended up leading a nation to the point of killing about 6 million Jews. This is the tragedy of racism because its ultimate logic is genocide. If one says that I am not good enough to live next door to him; if one says that I am not good enough to eat at a lunch counter, or to have a good, decent job, or to go to school with him merely because of my race, he is saying consciously or unconsciously that I do not deserve to exist.
To use a philosophical analogy here, racism is not based on some empirical generalization; it is based rather on an ontological affirmation. It is not the assertion that certain people are behind culturally or otherwise because of environmental conditions. It is the affirmation that the very being of a people is inferior. And this is the great tragedy of it.”
- The Other America. Martin Luther King Jr.
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/current/nation/problem-saying-all-lives-matter
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