Deactivating 2 Racial Landmines

I feel like going out on a limb this morning. I want to talk about the sticky issue of race, specifically how people are treated. But it may not be how you think.

There are certain protected classes in the United States. Jews, Blacks, and Hispanics come to mind primarily. We are not supposed to mention anything wrong with these groups. Doing so is tantamount to racism, and being labeled a racist may result in you being ostracized and your job being put into question.

Here are two examples of what I mean. In the first case, you have the word "nigger." In the current climate, you are not allowed to say that word unless you happen to be black, or you have enough "street cred" or association with blacks. Even then, you can only use the word in the right group of people and you need to cut through a lot of unspoken red tape. Somehow the use of that word makes you racist, even if you don't mean to malign or pull anyone down. If you are not black, even using the word to bring up it's history can result in being ostracized. Instead, you may only make reference to the word by using the expression "the 'n' word."

This is ridiculous. There should not be words that you cannot say. The thing that should be prohibited is a violent attitude - not what articles of speech someone uses. When you begin saying that people cannot use certain words, you start the ball rolling down the hill.

In the second case, let's take the phenomenon of "black face." Supposedly, there was once a trend where whites depicted blacks in a stereotypical and derogatory way. I don't know the exact history and I feel that it is a waste of time to investigate it further. The first time I heard about the phenomenon, I felt that it was one of those things where the degree of outrage was overblown and the degree of malicious intent was questionable.

Because of this event that occurred in the distant past, anyone who is not a protected minority must not ever paint there face so they look like another black person. To me, this is totally strange. Popular black comedians like Eddie Murphy and Dave Chappelle can portray white people in comedic sketches but the opposite is socially unacceptable. You can't be white and play a black person.

I think it is worth it to take a step back and reflect on what is happening. These restraints divide us. Anytime you go to engage someone of the protected race, it's like walking in a war zone. If you step on the wrong spot, you hit a landmine and explode.

That's not how we should be relating with each other. People who are not in a protected race are taught to avoid interacting with members of the protected race but only so long as an apology precedes the interaction. This is unsustainable.

The only question we should be asking is what is loving. Instead of following a checklist of societal conventions before engaging with someone, we should become sensitive to how people feel and be personable. You know, like a human being.

There is no question that there are disparities in society that can be drawn using racial lines. I believe strongly that love would dictate that we all work to counteract the causes of these disparities. And it starts with you. Any unloving attitude inside of yourself needs to be addressed.

When someone is damaged, it may be helpful to acknowledge the damage. But accepting responsibility for damaging someone when you haven't, is a sure-fire way of advocating helplessness and dependency in the other person. I think people often confuse insensitivity with accountability. Keeping people accountable in a gentle way is loving.

I realize there are some flaws in me. There is some rage that I feel over the long years of being charged with racism as a consequence of my skin color. It may seem strange that I would say this, but I feel that I was doomed before I was born.

I don't mean to minimize the pain that others have experienced. I actually want to expose the foolishness in order to address my own fear of being humiliated and belittled by cultural Marxists and social justice warriors. I certainly have a long way to go to become a perfect human being. If I am wrong in what I say, I hope to be so unburdened in my soul so that I may see my error.

And yes, I do believe I can become perfect. Not because I am white, but because I am a child of God. And that is what I am before I am anything else. I believe the same for my Hispanic, Jewish, and Black brothers and sisters. They can become perfect as well. We can all feel the rage and fear that disguises our deepest hurts and make the choice to become loving people.

If I am wrong in my calculations, God will judge me. I hope that I will be guided to feel through my dark emotions and become lighter in spirit, unburdened by the load of sin. And I ask my fellow sisters and brothers to understand me and help me with love.