Clashing Realities - How To End Racism in America

With all the talk of racism today, and all the anger, distrust and violence associated with it, it behooves us as a nation to find a way to put racism behind us. But how?

Before getting into how we can fix this, we need to determine the root cause - the REAL reason why one race feels as though they are being persecuted. Many have touched on various possible causes, but few have ever come close to getting to the bottom of it. To do that, we must face certain realities that we, ourselves may not be familiar with. Each race exists in a reality different from any other race. So I am going to ask you to put aside your biases for just a few minutes, and put yourself into one of the following scenarios.

 If you are white, put yourself in this situation:

You are born out of wedlock, and into poverty. Your father, if you even know who he is, no longer is a participant in your life - he's out of the picture. Lord only knows what your mother must do to try and support you - maybe she works 2 or 3 minimum wage jobs and has no time to raise you. Or maybe it's worse than that, with prostitution and drugs. To make matters worse, you are placed into a school that is sub-standard, and which will never prepare you for anything other than life on the streets. You learn more from members of the local gangs than you do in school.

You can see what is happening to your mother. Add everything up, and the anger builds. Anger at an unfair society that takes a baby that was born equal and turns him or her into something seen as inferior, facing hopelessness and a lack of respect for others, and even for life itself.

You see your life as hopeless, and not worth the litter in the alleys you gravitate to. And if your life has no value, then NO life has value, and it would not bother you to take the life of someone who gets in your way.

And as you fall into a life of crime, drugs, prostitution and self-loathing, you act in ways that cause other races to fear you. And when they fear you, they treat you with distrust, disrespect and loathing. And that just proves to you that you are righteous in your own hatred of them. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

On the other hand, if you are a minority, put yourself into this situation. You are now white for a few moments. You see what is happening in the streets. You see people who do not speak clear English, wear their pants down around their knees, hide their faces with hoodies, and engaging in the behavior mentioned above. And every day the news is filled with stories of blacks killing blacks  - thousands a year in Chicago, alone. You become incredibly leary when you encounter someone of that race, even if that person is a good person, because you do not KNOW him. The reality of life as a black man, coupled with what you see, and hear in the news has created preconceived notions as to what you might expect if you interact with them. And when fear clashes with anger, you get violence.

OK, there we have the two scenarios - in one case, there is distrust and hatred born of hopelessness. And in the other case, distrust and hatred is born of fear and what you see when faced with such a person. He hates you, and you hate him. Not because of anything you or he may have actually done, but only because of different realities clashing.

Fixing this will not be easy, nor will it happen quickly. But it CAN be fixed before another generation arrives and grows up.

First, we need leaders who will address the breakup of the family unit, and help families stay together. If, for example, a woman can collect more welfare if the father is not in the home, then there will be no man in the home. We need to change the narrative that will increase the odds of a father accepting responsibility for his children. And for those families who still do not include a father figure, we must provide one, in the form of "big brothers and sisters" and mentors.

We must make it easier for a single mother to support and care for her children - with those mentors and with free, quality day care and more support.

And we need to get certain representatives and senators to stop blocking "school choice". Every child, regardless of circumstance or neighborhood should be afforded the best K-12 education possible. A good education will do more to end the hopelessness and self-loathing that now exists in many minority communities. Dump the unions that want to keep the status quo - they are concerned only with their members - the teachers - at the expense of the children.

And our police should receive additional training to help them come to grips with possible outcomes when realities clash. Without letting their guard down, they need to be more empathetic with those whose reality is harsh.

And our leaders must never, ever "pander" to minorities. This just perpetuates the distrust and disrespect by inferring that they ARE being persecuted. If any candidate for any office resorts to pandering, do not vote for them. They should not get a single vote.

And every candidate for office should ascribe to the suggestions above, and work tirelessly to make them happen.

As for race-baiters like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and the not-so-Reverend Wright, we can deal with them by not empowering them or suppporting them. If anyone wants to use race to divide us, they should be ignored.

And on the other side, black leaders, families and clergy need to work tirelessly to bring an end to the black-on-black crime in their communities, and instill in their children a deeper respect for others.

And within a generation we could all but wipe out most of the root causes of racism. If minorities have hope, a family, a good education and support structure that surpasses that of gangs and drugs, and if the rest of us work tirelessly to help make that happen, America will again be the "Shining Beacon" for this troubled world.



If you find any value in this post, please pass it on, because it will take a lot of us to make it happen.

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