It was 1:05 p.m. in Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport as I was waiting for my 2:00 p.m. flight back home to Georgia for the Holidays. While I was sipping on my iced caramel macchiato from Dunkin’ Donuts, I came across a viral video as I was scrolling through my news feed on Facebook.
It was a video of a customer at the register of a J.C. Penny in Kentucky, and her friend had met her at the front of the line to add to the list of purchases. Another customer behind her started angrily yelling, stating that she had cut the line in front of her and the rest of people behind her.
“Tell them to go back to where they belong”, the angry customer told the cashier.
“Get to the back of the line and be somebody.”
“Just because you come from another country don’t make you nobody.”
“Speak English! You’re in America. If you don’t know it, learn it.”
As I watched this video, I was distraught. I began to question what I was seeing. Why was this woman practically dehumanizing another woman? What did this accomplish, and how could another person be chiming in, agreeing with her? Is this what our society has come to? Why wasn’t anyone stopping her?
So, I really thought about it—what was happening, what I was seeing, and what the problem was. I came to the sudden realization: time is running out.
We may view our country as a geographical border; but the culture of America’s moral superiority has only been proven by our history of tolerance, diplomacy, and mature leadership in the global community, especially during serious times of international crisis.
However, recent incidents of intolerance (such as this) has the potential to seriously damage our global image. For example, this could hurt our economic progress, particularly our tourism industry, due to the fear of tourists not being able to enjoy their visit for the fear of being dehumanized.
Imagine if you were to travel to France, and suddenly be attacked for not being able to speak French. Although the above incident is not particularly about tourism, incidents like this could make the world uneasy about the definition of humanity.
Time is running out—and I am afraid of the intolerance, anger, and the silent battle of human identity of race and ethnicity.
There is a verse I like to keep close to me, in times like this:
“Love your neighbor as yourself” –Mark 12:31
If you think about it, it is this verse; this sentence that is the fabric that binds our country together. We are all created equal, each and every one of us, and we should love our neighbor regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, or even political views. To me, it is what is inside our soul and mind that matters the most.
In the grand scheme of things, what happened to the woman at the front of the line could happen to you; it could happen to anyone, at any day, and at any time. In all reality, the angry customer was motivated only by the outer appearance or ethnicity of the woman in front of her, who could have been a U.S. Citizen all along.
Regardless of what the person’s race or ethnicity is, simply looking at the fact that a human is dehumanizing another person is not okay; there needs to be a check on the wheel of intolerance that is spinning out of control. No human being deserves going through that type of harassment.
This act of hatred, this intolerance could potentially continue to contaminate and derail the steps we have taken within society. In conclusion, as time runs out, I can only hope that we can continue to love our neighbor regardless.
