So much is happening in the world as of late and it scares me down to my core. We as a collective want change and I believe change is necessary. It has been necessary for a long time now, but change is frightening because it demands us to look into the unknown where nothing is guaranteed. The greatest changes occur when there is great suffering. Pain is a strong motivator and many people are hurting right now. Many human beings are angry and frustrated and fearful. I know I am fearful. I am scared for myself, but mostly for people of color, especially for those of the Black community.
I was raised by my white parents to be color blind and until recently I thought that was a "good" thing. I mean as a child I
I was raised by my white parents to be color blind and until recently I thought that was a "good" thing. I mean as a child I
knew that some people had different skin tones, but back then it didn’t hold any meaning for me. Skin tone was the same as eye or hair color to me; my friend Mandy had brown eyes and black hair and my friend Eric, who lived down the street, had blue eyes and blonde hair. My friend Robin had brown eyes, black hair, and dark skin and my friend Erin had blue eyes, red hair, and light skin. It didn’t matter to me because they were all my friends. I saw the differences in their appearances, but we were all people and, in my perspective, we were all important. I was color blind. I didn’t value the people I knew or didn’t know by how little or how much melanin they possessed in their body. I was a child. I was naïve. Perhaps in a “perfect world” being color blind would not only be a “good” thing to be, but it would also be a normal thing to be. Recently I’ve been made aware that color blindness is not acceptable, at least not today and not in our society. In fact, being color blind is a dangerous thing to be.
All human beings are not treated equally. It just isn’t reality and for a large portion of our world’s population it hasn’t been a reality for a very long time. This isn’t just morally wrong, it’s painful for me to witness. I am appalled by the fact that white people, such as myself, have any sort of inherent privilege because of the color of our skin. It makes me angry. I am no better than any person of color …
But this post isn’t about me.
This post is about people of color, especially the Black community of America. It is about black men, black women, black children; all who are valuable and deserve respect, respect that they have yet to see or feel.
We created a system of government that was founded on the concept that people of color aren’t valued the same as white people. That’s fucked up! I’m ashamed of what we’ve done in our country’s past and I’m sorry that you, the Black community (and other people of color) still are directly affected by those actions and that they still influence your lives on a daily basis. I’m sorry that the people whose jobs are to protect and serve you, chose to murder your sons, daughters, husbands, wives, parents, and friends. You are be betrayed every day. Please know that this betrayal brings me sorrow. While I can’t fully comprehend what your life is like, please know I stand with you, to support you with hope that as you express your rage and grief, the world will listen and see that there needs to be a change in the existing laws and in the attitude of those who hold power.
I am not color blind any more. I can see at least a sliver of how people of the Black community are not treated the same way as white people are treated. I see society’s failure in both actions and inaction and it’s my sincere hope that white people will take responsibility and make the necessary changes so that we can someday get to that ideal world where we are all treated the same way regardless of our skin tone.
Black lives matter.
All human beings are not treated equally. It just isn’t reality and for a large portion of our world’s population it hasn’t been a reality for a very long time. This isn’t just morally wrong, it’s painful for me to witness. I am appalled by the fact that white people, such as myself, have any sort of inherent privilege because of the color of our skin. It makes me angry. I am no better than any person of color …
But this post isn’t about me.
This post is about people of color, especially the Black community of America. It is about black men, black women, black children; all who are valuable and deserve respect, respect that they have yet to see or feel.
We created a system of government that was founded on the concept that people of color aren’t valued the same as white people. That’s fucked up! I’m ashamed of what we’ve done in our country’s past and I’m sorry that you, the Black community (and other people of color) still are directly affected by those actions and that they still influence your lives on a daily basis. I’m sorry that the people whose jobs are to protect and serve you, chose to murder your sons, daughters, husbands, wives, parents, and friends. You are be betrayed every day. Please know that this betrayal brings me sorrow. While I can’t fully comprehend what your life is like, please know I stand with you, to support you with hope that as you express your rage and grief, the world will listen and see that there needs to be a change in the existing laws and in the attitude of those who hold power.
I am not color blind any more. I can see at least a sliver of how people of the Black community are not treated the same way as white people are treated. I see society’s failure in both actions and inaction and it’s my sincere hope that white people will take responsibility and make the necessary changes so that we can someday get to that ideal world where we are all treated the same way regardless of our skin tone.
Black lives matter.
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