Oppression, discrimination, exclusion, racially-motivated violence, racial profiling -- these many facets of racism, along with many more, are often dismissed as acts of the past which we as a society have progressed beyond. Many believe these things are very rare occurrences in this day and age, and some would go as far as saying they are non-existent. The truth is, there is evidence of blatant racism and discrimination seen across many different races and within our society still today. You most likely see it with your own eyes every single day: when you log onto social media, turn on the television, and for some, even when you walk out your front door. Although racism is being portrayed in different ways, it is still very prevalent today, is negatively affecting the lives of many people, is plaguing our minds and our relationships and it needs to come to an end.
The problem lies with the misconception of racism which stems directly from the skewed portrayal of racism through so many different outlets in our society, most explicitly media outlets. Let me be very clear; when I say racism, I mean any act/thought of prejudice or discrimination used in order to hold one race inferior or superior to another race. Racism is not a one-way street and it is not exclusively directed toward any one race or coming from any one race. There are members of every single race who are racist and there is no single race whose members are all racist. However, this is not what the media outlets want you to believe. This isn't the idea that sells.
The idea that sells is black versus white; another white policeman guns down an innocent black pedestrian; another black civilian causing violence; white presidential candidate makes "racist" comment; white man racist for portraying blackface by dressing as Lil' Wayne; Beyonce racist for Superbowl half-time show; the list goes on and on. I want to be very delicate in the way I put my thoughts because I am in no way dismissing or ignoring the brutal, inexcusable acts of racism that have occurred both recently and in the past. As I stated earlier, racism is real and it is so very prevalent. There are many cases in which racism has played an extremely dominant role in injustices that have happened in our country and the motivators behind each of those specific instances should be held personally and seriously accountable for their actions. However, many of these headlines and stories that are broadcast throughout the media today are nothing more than desperate attempts to uphold these racial binaries and stereotypes in order to attract more controversy, hence more publicity. Everything is not racially motivated; some people simply don't think thoroughly before they act or speak and their words/actions are misconstrued and twisted into something more than what they meant them to be. Many people make errors in judgment and some people are just downright heartless, but that does not mean that every wrong word or action in this world is motivated by racism. It is our job to open our minds and use critical analysis to make distinctions between what is racism and what isn't, rather than letting headlines draw on our emotions and cloud our judgment.
There is also a huge difference between supporting your race/heritage and taking pride in where you come from and shaming someone else's race/heritage or using it to justify racism. I will give a personal example of my experience with this. Both my husband and I are mixed (I am half African-American and half Caucasian). We recently moved into a predominantly white town. As I was getting home from school one day, I noticed a white teenage male riding his bicycle down our street. I had never seen him around our neighborhood, but just as I would to anyone I saw on my street, I smiled at him and waved. He continued to ride his bicycle down the street without giving me any more acknowledgment than a glance, and I thought nothing else of it. My husband arrived about 20 minutes later and also saw the teenage boy, now accompanied with a friend and a Confederate, or sometimes referred to as "Rebel," flag. The boys proceeded to march back and forth near our house, at the end of our street, flaunting their flag. My critical analysis tells me that the chance that these boys were solely carrying this flag back and forth near our home as a sign of support for the Confederacy and/or for the opposition of Northern suppression, with the absence of any racial motivation, is very slim.
This is not an attempt to say that all individuals who host this flag are racist or have bad intentions by any means. However, in my opinion, this specific instance is a clear example of people using pride for their own culture in order to shame another. In order to understand the ways in which this happens and to understand that racism is not a one-way street, it is important for me to give another example that shows the other side of this. There are many times I have witnessed quotes, photos, etc., associated with the "Black Lives Matter" movement that have suggested a certain hatred for the white population as a whole. Although this movement started as a positive means of support for the black population and a platform to stand on and bring light to the injustices that were going on within the community, some have begun to portray this with the connotation that since black lives matter, white lives do not. For some, it has become a platform to shame white people and to maintain this division between races rather than what it was intended for. This is yet another prime example of using one's culture/heritage in order to shame another's.
As a society, it is time to realize that black lives matter; white lives matter; all lives matter. Like Michael Jackson said, "It don't matter if you're black or white." We have to work toward peace and change by learning to distinguish for ourselves what is racism and what is not rather than letting the media and society control our minds. It is important to hold individuals accountable for their actions rather than attributing their wrongdoings to their entire race. Achieving and maintaining equality and respect for one another is the responsibility of everyone.
