Do you practice racism?
From AsianWeek: “I’m Not, Like, Racist”
From IndependentOnline: Rhodes sorry for past racist actions
From TribalFootball: Scotland and Ireland slammed by anti-racism agency
Here’s a definition of racism:
belief in racial superiority: the belief that people of different races have different qualities and abilities, and that some races are inherently superior or inferior.
It might be good to define prejudice, too:
opinion formed beforehand: a preformed opinion, usually an unfavorable one, based on insufficient knowledge, irrational feelings, or inaccurate stereotypes.
I feel we all have to be rigorous in self-examination concerning tendencies toward racism.
It’s an ingrained behavior, driven deep by ages of irrational action.
Ever been faced by any of these situations?
* Your child wants to marry someone of different color.
* You are asked to work closely with a person of different color.
* Your partner was formerly involved with someone of different color.
* You find yourself in a situation that demands you live for an extended time with people of different color.
If you haven’t had to face those situations, I urge you, with an open heart, to imagine you are experiencing them. *** How do you honestly feel?
One factor that clouds this whole issue is the behavior of people who identify with their skin color—acting in ways that make them feel exclusive.
It’s going to take a phenomenal commitment to rid our planet of this illness. It will take “genuine love, extreme patience, true humility, consummate tact, sound initiative, mature wisdom, and deliberate, persistent, and prayerful effort.”
Also, recent thinking has made the idea of separate human races a distinctly non-scientific viewpoint. I’ll offer one opinion for your examination.
Spiritual Quote:
“Racism, one of the most baneful and persistent evils, is a major barrier to peace. Its practice perpetrates too outrageous a violation of the dignity of human beings to be countenanced under any pretext. Racism retards the unfoldment of the boundless potentialities of its victims, corrupts its perpetrators, and blights human progress. Recognition of the oneness of mankind, implemented by appropriate legal measures, must be universally upheld if this problem is to be overcome.”
The Universal House of Justice, 1985 Oct, The Promise of World Peace
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Don’t forget – racism isn’t just the same as personal prejudice. Racism is also the institutional effects of past prejudice as well. We might avoid being prejudiced ourselves but that’s not enough. We also have to give up the privilege that past prejudice has granted us – whether we asked for it or not.
Steven,
Thanks for that illuminating comment !!!
The photo is perfect for your topic Alex. When I think of racism instantly I think of a child whom because of their innocence except all humans as equals. Again, we should learn from our children. Racism is a horrible fact of life and seems to be getter worse by the day.
Brandi,
You made my reason for using the picture rise to my conscious awareness !
I often spend quite a bit of time choosing images for the posts but rarely make conscious choices–it’s almost always a feeling-sense that picks the right pic…
I can’t say it was always true in the past, but I am can say that I would be able to handle all of those “what if” scenarios now. It should be more about who the person really is inside than just their race or skin color.
Kristi,
You’re blessed to have ridden through the cultural tests and come out with acceptance !
My thought on this,I would think and say that racism is taught at home,from the parents. My comment is this…
There are two things to aim at in life,first to get what you want,and after that to enjoy it.
Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second.
Catherine,
You are this blog’s angelic philosopher !!!
I have been in all of the situations you list here (except my child wanting to marry someone of a different color…as I don’t have children.) I had no qualms about the things you list here at all. In fact if I thought about it: I feel excited to learn about another culture. In the past people have often said to me, “What was it like being with ‘them'” Or some other innuendo where I didn’t at first know what they were talking about until they said, “You know, because they are different or colored or whatever.” It was only then that I realized I had not even thought about it.
I have lived in several multi-racial communities and am at my happiest there. I love the mix of styles, languages, beliefs, cooking, etc.
I also think that STEVEN S. is a dynamic thinker because he is looking at the deeper problem. I read his article and it is spot on! An example of this is: I could say that I am not racist, which is true, BUT what about the countries that are STILL, TODAY, using slave labor, factory sweatshops, chaining children and women to looms and workbenches, or keeping them trapped by giving them a tiny bit of food they would not have otherwise…all to make trinkets for the USA. You can read more about it on these sites. I’ve not thoroughly checked them out; they are just to make a point.
http://www.nlcnet.org/article.php?id=479
http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/sweatshops/whatyoucando/9coolways.cfm
Steven is right in that we have to make conscious choices beyond the one of personal non-racism. If we even buy products made by people enslaved we are saying, “Yes, they aren’t worth more than that. It’s okay they are suffering to make a new key chain for me. It’s just one of ‘those people’ over ‘there’ somewhere in one of ‘those countries’.” And it’s not enough that we simply educate ourselves but we need to get involved in bringing to these people the positive changes they DESERVE.
They ARE me.
We have to shift a much deeper type of thinking that is almost like a deep dark drugged dream that we forget upon waking.
You could pick any number of examples. Like I said this is just one example off the top of my head. Maybe Steven had some examples of his own. I was hoping I’d see them in his wonderful article.
And the change we create might be right in our own neighborhood. Example: I live in a Hispanic, Mexican, Native American and Anglo neighborhood and I do a yard sale once a summer. I often get many struggling Mexicans and they are delightfully warm, hardworking and loving people. Very kind and appreciative of EVERYTHING. They will pay me a quarter for a shirt and I tell them I’m having a sale, which in essence I am, and I give them five more free shirts or whatever. They are so touched that some of them cry and hug me and I cry with them 🙂 🙂 and we are all SO happy. I tell them that the shirts are all OURS to share. We are the same. People help me, I help them, they help someone else and on it goes. Sometimes they bring something back for me. I fall in love with them. And they with me. And they come every summer that I have a sale and we remember each other.
I make very little “monetary wealth” on my yard sale but I go away the richest woman alive. Some friends tell me that I shouldn’t give the stuff away. YES I should and do and will. Because Steven is right, it goes much deeper than personal racism. If one among us goes without, we all go without. We may not see it but we are tragically impoverished when we silently agree to let others live under repression…even if the agreeing is in the form of inaction.
When we start to REALLY see “other” as “self”, we cannot stop ourselves from taking action and loving.
Robin !!!
You *must* post this at the new forum:
http://ourevolution.freeforums.org/
Actually, the fourth forum down the main page, “Eliminating Racism”.
Your beautifully artistic writing style truly gleamed when you commented on the potential buried in each of us:
“We have to shift to a much deeper type of thinking that is almost like a deep dark drugged dream that we forget upon waking.”
And I sobbed tears of joy when I read this:
“…I give them five more free shirts or whatever. They are so touched that some of them cry and hug me and I cry with them 🙂 🙂 and we are all SO happy.”
And, the pure and sweet wisdom of:
“If one among us goes without, we all go without. We may not see it but we are tragically impoverished when we silently agree to let others live under repression…even if the agreeing is in the form of inaction.”
Please-oh-please, with whatever-you-most-thirst-for-on-top, post this to Our Evolution’s forum…
Nice post. As you say, racism is “an ingrained behavior, driven deep by ages of irrational action”. This seems to be the case with many of our behaviours today. I feel that growing recognition of the need to address certain issues will result in a series of ‘generation iterations’ before we are able to reverse trends that took many generations to become ingrained in us.
iman,
Yes…
One way to trudge willing through all the suffering yet ahead is to realize, like you say, that it will take generations of slow behavior change to wipe out the deeply entrenched racial attitudes; *yet*, once that is realized (and, I firmly believe humanity will reach that shining shore), there will be eons of amity and love among the variously-colored flowers of our human garden.
The spirit and soul of a human being has no color, ethnicity or label per se. We are each pure love. There is no such thing as racism unless you choose to believe it. If you think about it or channel energy into the concept in other ways, you are fuelling a fire that could be extinguished due to lack of negative thought energy.
Liara,
Good to see you agree with the most progressive scientists!
😉
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I guess this is where we emphasisi on progresive revelation . Our practices and believe are to be directed to civalization rather then merely holding on faithfully to the past. Surely this open the door for us to fly free among the rest.
Aasha,
Glad you’re aware of the concept of Progressive Revelation.
I’ll be exploring it in an upcoming post!
p.s. I’ve tried to get these responses to you through e-mail, too, and they are repeatedly rejected….