On Racism
On Racism
I just came from watching Freedomland starring Samuel L. Jackson, and Julianne Moore. It was really pretty good. I’ll leave it at that, because this blog entry is not a movie review. I’ll let you go see it for yourself, and maybe we’ll get a chance to talk about it one day.
Anyhow, one of the main themes of the movie is racism. I have been hearing so much about racism in the past couple of weeks, I just don’t know how to process it. Oprah did this show the other day where she had these two families, one ‘black’ and the other ‘white’ dress up to be the opposite. It was most interesting to see the white folks done up as black folks. The mom was the least convincing for me, but the father and the girl were dead on. I guess I have gotten so used to seeing Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence and Marlon and Shawn Wayans dressed up as Caucasians that I wasn’t totally convinced with the white-face makeup.
These days, everybody throws around the term racism. African-Americans are even sometimes labeled as racist. Just so that everyone understands (who’s reading this) what racism is, I’d like to establish some meanings. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, racism is: The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
Now, let’s compare the term racism with prejudice: An adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts. Let’s also take a look at bias: A preference or an inclination, especially one that inhibits impartial judgment; an unfair act or policy stemming from prejudice. And last, but not least, bigotry: The attitude, state of mind, or behavior characteristic of a bigot; intolerance. And what exactly is a bigot? Bigot: One who is strongly partial to one's own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ.
Are you still with me? Good. To sum it up, racism is a belief, prejudice is based on judgments and opinions in the absence of facts. A bias is a preference, and a bigot is partial to one’s own group and is intolerant of others. I believe in each and every one of our every day lives, we are challenged to rise above our own biases, prejudices, and bigotry. If we encounter a person who is different from us, often we initially rely on what our parents, friends, media and entertainment tell us about that different person. And, if we are fortunate, we take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about that different person and begin regarding that other as a human being worthy of kindness, compassion and mercy, if we haven’t done so already.
I can only speak from a ‘black’ American perspective when I speak of racism. I know that it is something that undermines the sanity of the racist individual as much as it does his or her victim. African-Americans definitely have suffered unaccountably from systematic oppression, but what happens to the heart of the racist? What happens to the person, and I’m not just referring to white people, that look at my dark skin and kinky hair and decide that I’m not worthy of kindness, compassion, mercy, and respect? Many people already feel that they know black people and how they think, act, what they value and how they behave. Television is their guide, and that seems to be enough for them. I am used to people becoming uncomfortable when they cannot easily assign one of many readily available stereotypes to me and my life. I hate it when non-black people tell me that I am ‘articulate’. I hate it even more when some individuals are so disturbed that I am not poor and ignorant that they feel the need to go out of their way to treat me as if I am. Sometimes I take it all in stride, sometimes I want to and do go completely off on folks.
One thing we must all understand is that we all reap what we sow. It may not seem like it to some, but it is true. What goes up, must come down. What you put out comes back to you. One cannot oppress another without poisoning one’s own heart. Nowadays, racism is casually observed, and seemingly accepted as ‘just the way things are’. It’s the topic of talk shows and movies, yet it plays out in the same way every time like a broken record as it has for the past hundred years. And unfortunately, it won’t change until it ceases to be profitable. One man’s pain is another man’s gain. We poke fun at it, get angry at it, throw money at it, go to jail behind it, but as long as it works, it won’t change. People who don’t know their history in this country and don’t take time to examine their reactions toward people who are different tend to cry ‘reverse racism’ and ‘reverse discrimination’. Wouldn’t it indeed be nice if we could just reverse racism and reverse discrimination?
I’ve probably ranted enough, but I want to leave everyone with this. Life is not a zero-sum game, where someone has to give up something for another to have more. Oppressing other people is a lazy man’s game. It requires very little creativity, and lets a few individuals sit back and relax while everyone else suffers. Think about it.
Chandra Adams
Author
Shades of Retribution
www.AdrolitePress.com
www.ChandraAdams.com
www.NorthBayMediaReview.com
I just came from watching Freedomland starring Samuel L. Jackson, and Julianne Moore. It was really pretty good. I’ll leave it at that, because this blog entry is not a movie review. I’ll let you go see it for yourself, and maybe we’ll get a chance to talk about it one day.
Anyhow, one of the main themes of the movie is racism. I have been hearing so much about racism in the past couple of weeks, I just don’t know how to process it. Oprah did this show the other day where she had these two families, one ‘black’ and the other ‘white’ dress up to be the opposite. It was most interesting to see the white folks done up as black folks. The mom was the least convincing for me, but the father and the girl were dead on. I guess I have gotten so used to seeing Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence and Marlon and Shawn Wayans dressed up as Caucasians that I wasn’t totally convinced with the white-face makeup.
These days, everybody throws around the term racism. African-Americans are even sometimes labeled as racist. Just so that everyone understands (who’s reading this) what racism is, I’d like to establish some meanings. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, racism is: The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
Now, let’s compare the term racism with prejudice: An adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts. Let’s also take a look at bias: A preference or an inclination, especially one that inhibits impartial judgment; an unfair act or policy stemming from prejudice. And last, but not least, bigotry: The attitude, state of mind, or behavior characteristic of a bigot; intolerance. And what exactly is a bigot? Bigot: One who is strongly partial to one's own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ.
Are you still with me? Good. To sum it up, racism is a belief, prejudice is based on judgments and opinions in the absence of facts. A bias is a preference, and a bigot is partial to one’s own group and is intolerant of others. I believe in each and every one of our every day lives, we are challenged to rise above our own biases, prejudices, and bigotry. If we encounter a person who is different from us, often we initially rely on what our parents, friends, media and entertainment tell us about that different person. And, if we are fortunate, we take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about that different person and begin regarding that other as a human being worthy of kindness, compassion and mercy, if we haven’t done so already.
I can only speak from a ‘black’ American perspective when I speak of racism. I know that it is something that undermines the sanity of the racist individual as much as it does his or her victim. African-Americans definitely have suffered unaccountably from systematic oppression, but what happens to the heart of the racist? What happens to the person, and I’m not just referring to white people, that look at my dark skin and kinky hair and decide that I’m not worthy of kindness, compassion, mercy, and respect? Many people already feel that they know black people and how they think, act, what they value and how they behave. Television is their guide, and that seems to be enough for them. I am used to people becoming uncomfortable when they cannot easily assign one of many readily available stereotypes to me and my life. I hate it when non-black people tell me that I am ‘articulate’. I hate it even more when some individuals are so disturbed that I am not poor and ignorant that they feel the need to go out of their way to treat me as if I am. Sometimes I take it all in stride, sometimes I want to and do go completely off on folks.
One thing we must all understand is that we all reap what we sow. It may not seem like it to some, but it is true. What goes up, must come down. What you put out comes back to you. One cannot oppress another without poisoning one’s own heart. Nowadays, racism is casually observed, and seemingly accepted as ‘just the way things are’. It’s the topic of talk shows and movies, yet it plays out in the same way every time like a broken record as it has for the past hundred years. And unfortunately, it won’t change until it ceases to be profitable. One man’s pain is another man’s gain. We poke fun at it, get angry at it, throw money at it, go to jail behind it, but as long as it works, it won’t change. People who don’t know their history in this country and don’t take time to examine their reactions toward people who are different tend to cry ‘reverse racism’ and ‘reverse discrimination’. Wouldn’t it indeed be nice if we could just reverse racism and reverse discrimination?
I’ve probably ranted enough, but I want to leave everyone with this. Life is not a zero-sum game, where someone has to give up something for another to have more. Oppressing other people is a lazy man’s game. It requires very little creativity, and lets a few individuals sit back and relax while everyone else suffers. Think about it.
Chandra Adams
Author
Shades of Retribution
www.AdrolitePress.com
www.ChandraAdams.com
www.NorthBayMediaReview.com
posted by Northbaywriter | 7:26 PM
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