As an old year
closes out, and a new year approaches, I was given a very harsh pill to swallow
– and truly, it hurt. I guess the reason why is because I have made a conscious
decision to live on this earth believing that we cannot blame those living now for
the mistakes of those who lived before us. But the reality is that, sometimes,
we have to. Racism is not just alive; it’s commonplace.
I have always
prided myself in being progressive and forward thinking. I’ve always been about
uniting, and not dividing. During the electoral process, I listened to the
positions of all the candidates. I didn’t jump on the Barack train. While I had
been watching his career since his rise to fame in
And even still, I
held onto a hope that, perhaps, change could begin to happen despite the
uninformed reasons for the decisions of many to vote for Obama. While I think their
decisions were largely based on race, there were some that did actually listen
for the first time –and no matter what their reasoning – I believe that the
American people got it right this time. Unfortunately, I think that people
began to believe that CHANGE had come. Truly, the only change that I can see is
that racism no longer needs to be covert.
I walked into Urban
Outfitters on last evening. This is a store that I have been adamant about not
patronizing for years. I simply don’t agree with the name of the establishment,
the aim of the establishment, and the leanings of the establishment. They make
money off of taking pieces of culture and religion and defaming it. They are
sacrilegious, racist, and discriminatory in their clothing. To go from the name
– The Free People- to creating products that enslave people, I’m not sure that
I am willing to support them. Yes, they practice freedom of speech and
propaganda very well. So, if you like that, then by all means, do what you have
to do. But the actions of the staff in store I went to last night, really
reminded me that, at the end of the day, with all my money – ahem, “I aint
nothing but a nigger.” Get mad if you want to. I said it!
And it’s really
unfortunate. We often talk about people stooping to new lows when they attack
individuals in anger. I’m here to tell you all that even the calmest person can
be taken to the point where violence seems to be a viable option. After what I
witnessed last night, I spoke to the manager (who was the culprit). Her smug
demeanor only boiled up a level of hatred in my heart, that going to jail for a
short stint seemed perfectly okay to me. I realized that in a matter of
minutes, I’d gone from denial, to shock, to sadness, to anger, to hatred. And
that truly scared me. It put into such great perspective just how easy it is
for a person to snap when faced with an issue of racism. It forced me to step
back and outside of myself and to utter words of apologies to those older
people who harbor that same hatred in their hearts that I felt last night.
Today is a new day,
and yet, I still feel shaken to the core. While I still believe that I am able
to forgive like many of my elders cannot, I will no longer pass judgment on
someone who does make a decision solely based on the race of an individual. I
don’t want to lose my faith, but I’m starting to lean in a direction that I
once thought was ignorant – “separate…” might not have been a bad idea!
I totally agree with your last statement. ;-)
Posted by: Yo | Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 03:10 PM