Can We End Racism Already?
I always want to write at the end of the year, mostly because I start to feel a sense of guilt from not writing more throughout the year, but also because I start getting nostalgic and reflective. So here's another random post! (Simon isn't doing anything crazy at the moment anyway, besides learning to speak.)
America has been getting a bit scary as of late. Extreme Right Wingers are trying to take away our rights and turn us into a backwards thinking nation. Religion has a lot to do with it, and fear. Terrorists from ISIS recently bombed the hell out of Paris, and America responded by refusing to take in Syrian refugees. Pretty ridiculous. And cops are being gun nuts and shooting (mostly) black people left and right, which is also ridiculous, but sadly taken as given at this point. So with all the recent race talk, it made me think of ways to get people to be NOT racist. And I don't mean stereotypical. Because all humans think in stereotypes, and that's ok. When I meet a new person who is ethnically different from me, I acknowledge that fact in my mind, and I make some innocuous assumptions. But everyone does that about everyone else, otherwise our brains would explode. It's when you make some insane assumption about someone that hurts them, physically or mentally, that it turns racist. It's an important distinction because it could be a fine line.
But anyway, how NOT to be racist. One of my friends thinks that we have to change the words that people say. Like when the word "gay" started to mean "stupid" for awhile, and then people thought better of it and stopped saying it. I don't agree with this words theory. I think it will help to get semantics right, but in the long run, words mean nothing. And I see how ironic that is as I type this out. But it's true. I mean how many times do you say a descriptive word over and over until it's meaningless. We don't think that hard about the words we say. Some words are hugely impactful, but these are few and far between, like the "n" word. But overall, changing the words that we say will not change the fear of different cultures.
Because I need to finish a PAD mission before bed, I'll keep this relatively brief and tell everyone what does need to happen. We need to integrate more thoroughly. It's simple in concept, but extremely difficult to pull off, depending on the size of the city. When I lived in Geneva, 90% of the people I knew were Italian or Irish, with some Blacks and Puerto Ricans thrown in. When I lived in Geneseo, I started seeing Southeast Asians for the first time, but didn't really talk to most of them. When I lived in Rochester, I worked with one Korean guy, one Indian guy, a Nepali girl, and a Black girl, among all the other white people. Only the Korean guy was actually from a different country, but it was still interesting to interact with them.
When I lived in Brooklyn, I worked with 90% immigrants. And it was fascinating. I worked with 2 Ukranians, 1 Russian, 1 Pakistani, 1 Bengali, 4 Black people, 1 Sri Lankan, and 1 Chinese girl. Some were Jewish, some Muslim, and some Christian. I became friends with most of these people, and got to know them very well. I learned all about their thoughts and beliefs, because as a sleep tech, there's nothing to do but watch patients and talk for hours. I still miss these people so much, because they were all amazing in different ways. It taught me that no matter where in the world we come from, humans are all the same.
So, it's hard, because of social stratas and wealth distribution and the plight of Blacks in America and all of that. I'm not trying to downplay the severity of those issues, but those are things to talk about another time. I just wish that there was a good way to get people of different backgrounds talking and hanging out. There would be less fear and less misunderstanding. There are some good programs that bring inner city kids to suburban schools, and suburban kids to city schools, and that's a great start. Because kids are the ultimate clean slate. So if we can change how they think, maybe we can save this damned planet after all.
Happy New Year!
Oh and here's a bonus photo of Simon. Because he is getting sooooo big and old:
America has been getting a bit scary as of late. Extreme Right Wingers are trying to take away our rights and turn us into a backwards thinking nation. Religion has a lot to do with it, and fear. Terrorists from ISIS recently bombed the hell out of Paris, and America responded by refusing to take in Syrian refugees. Pretty ridiculous. And cops are being gun nuts and shooting (mostly) black people left and right, which is also ridiculous, but sadly taken as given at this point. So with all the recent race talk, it made me think of ways to get people to be NOT racist. And I don't mean stereotypical. Because all humans think in stereotypes, and that's ok. When I meet a new person who is ethnically different from me, I acknowledge that fact in my mind, and I make some innocuous assumptions. But everyone does that about everyone else, otherwise our brains would explode. It's when you make some insane assumption about someone that hurts them, physically or mentally, that it turns racist. It's an important distinction because it could be a fine line.
But anyway, how NOT to be racist. One of my friends thinks that we have to change the words that people say. Like when the word "gay" started to mean "stupid" for awhile, and then people thought better of it and stopped saying it. I don't agree with this words theory. I think it will help to get semantics right, but in the long run, words mean nothing. And I see how ironic that is as I type this out. But it's true. I mean how many times do you say a descriptive word over and over until it's meaningless. We don't think that hard about the words we say. Some words are hugely impactful, but these are few and far between, like the "n" word. But overall, changing the words that we say will not change the fear of different cultures.
Because I need to finish a PAD mission before bed, I'll keep this relatively brief and tell everyone what does need to happen. We need to integrate more thoroughly. It's simple in concept, but extremely difficult to pull off, depending on the size of the city. When I lived in Geneva, 90% of the people I knew were Italian or Irish, with some Blacks and Puerto Ricans thrown in. When I lived in Geneseo, I started seeing Southeast Asians for the first time, but didn't really talk to most of them. When I lived in Rochester, I worked with one Korean guy, one Indian guy, a Nepali girl, and a Black girl, among all the other white people. Only the Korean guy was actually from a different country, but it was still interesting to interact with them.
When I lived in Brooklyn, I worked with 90% immigrants. And it was fascinating. I worked with 2 Ukranians, 1 Russian, 1 Pakistani, 1 Bengali, 4 Black people, 1 Sri Lankan, and 1 Chinese girl. Some were Jewish, some Muslim, and some Christian. I became friends with most of these people, and got to know them very well. I learned all about their thoughts and beliefs, because as a sleep tech, there's nothing to do but watch patients and talk for hours. I still miss these people so much, because they were all amazing in different ways. It taught me that no matter where in the world we come from, humans are all the same.
So, it's hard, because of social stratas and wealth distribution and the plight of Blacks in America and all of that. I'm not trying to downplay the severity of those issues, but those are things to talk about another time. I just wish that there was a good way to get people of different backgrounds talking and hanging out. There would be less fear and less misunderstanding. There are some good programs that bring inner city kids to suburban schools, and suburban kids to city schools, and that's a great start. Because kids are the ultimate clean slate. So if we can change how they think, maybe we can save this damned planet after all.
Happy New Year!
Oh and here's a bonus photo of Simon. Because he is getting sooooo big and old:
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