I'm going to start this article out completely honest. I had written a totally different article to be shared this week. It was an article about my take on the #BlackLivesMatter campaign. It was a raw article filled with my emotions and reactions to the recent deaths in our country. But, last night while I was at a comedy show on vacation I had a realization. Keep in mind that I was raised with pretty conservative views, so it takes a lot to change my mind usually.
As the last comic approached the microphone, I was ready for someone besides the randomly drawn audience members to take the stage. The last comic was a very tall black man. He opened with the line "Racism is lazy." Now, this line may not seem like much and to others it might be a "duh" statement, but that line just really clicked for me. He went on to throw the punch line:"I promise if you sit down with the person you are racist towards, you will find so many other reasons to hate them besides the color of their skin."
I was already thinking at this point that he had just opened my mind to something I hadn't ever considered. Now, in saying this, I'm not directing it at the most recent shootings. I'm not saying the police officers were racist or that the protestors for Black Lives Matter are racist. I'm simply saying to whoever is racist: Racism is lazy. Not only could you find other reasons to hate someone, but you might actually find reasons to like that person. Honestly, sitting down and talking with that person might not change your opinion at all, and I'm not saying it has to. We all have a right to like or dislike people for reasons that others might not agree with, so as long as it's a reason other than race, you're within those rights.
I will get backlash from the article, but I've recently decided that I do not care. I love almost everyone that I meet that is respectful of me, and I will be just as respectful back. I don't care if you're black, white, lesbian, gay, or a purple person with green polka dots; you're just as much a person to me as I am, and that's the view we all need to work on obtaining. America needs to stop being lazy and find other reasons to dislike someone besides the color on their skin. Who would've thought a comedy show at a hole in the wall comedy club would open my eyes so much to the world around me? That just proves my point, sometimes we find realization in the most unexpected places.
