When Will Racism Lose the War?

I do not know what it is about us earthly inhabitants, but from the beginning of time, we have found a reason to hate, oppress, enslave, distrust, look down upon, negatively stereotype and ultimately attempted to depopulate and annihilate people of other races. The differences in our phenotype that is dictated by our genotype has always and continues to pervade even now and into the future as a reason to perceive and treat people differently and, sometimes savagely. Let’s be honest, no amount of technology, education, money, research or religion has successfully eradicated the world of the scourge of racism and there is very little indication that this type of mindset will ever be completely cured. We hear terms like the war against racism, not internalizing that if we have to wage war against a phenomenon like racism, then racism must somehow be fighting back and the question that emerges from this realization is, if racism still exists in the year 2014, then who is truly winning the war?

Ever since Mike Brown, the unarmed teenager was shot and killed by a police officer in Missouri, I have seen a drastic increase in race debates, articles and news features about race, sometimes related and sometimes unrelated to the death of Mike Brown. Let’s side track for a minute. Notice I did not say Mike Brown, a black unarmed teenager was shot and killed by a white police officer in Missouri which the media has done myriad of times for emphasis and reaction and thus pulling our emotional strings while planting seeds in the minds of the public even before the facts are revealed. As a reading populace, we have to know and understand that the media very much plays word games and is able to some extent, dictate our opinion and cloud our judgment through the simple mechanism of word play. We have a responsibility to ourselves and to each other to navigate through what are considered facts and what is considered hysteria so that ultimately, our opinion can be balanced, rational and most importantly based on facts and not sensationalism. My personal opinion, on the tragic incidents that took place in Missouri is not one subscribing to the race card debate that I have seen taken place and led to a lot of misguided actions even today. In fact, I believe that the matter highlights the issue of police brutality which is certainly a problem that not only needs to be address and corrected by the police force but also by the government on a national scale.

 Reverting to the point at hand, yes, there has been an onslaught of material on race circulating the information stream ever since the Mike Brown incident and I have watched with much disdain at how the ugly aspects of racism were just hissing away like the many ferocious snakes on Medusa’s head. I have seen how racism begets racism, where people felt as if it was okay to hate and degrade other races because they themselves felt hated by those of other race(s). I have seen where racism censors people of other races, where people of one race felt as if certain other races should not have a voice or opinion on issues that does not affect their race per se. Or, if you disagreed with a particular outlook on the race argument, you could incur the wrath and isolation of the people within your own race. I have seen where racism trivialized the struggles of other races, where people of other races would attempt to hijack the opinions of individuals who felt oppressed by people of other races. I have seen the race card trump and curtail other valid facts, where when an incident involving two races ends with some level of causality, the focus is mainly on the race of the individuals and any other matters pertaining to the incident is muted, curtailed or overlooked. I am truly in such amazement and awe.

However, when I saw an article explaining that a part of dealing with racism is to practice empathy, my heart just welled with overwhelming frustration at what seems to be the continuous misconception of race and race related issues. You might be wondering why such a seemingly sensible statement would be the factor that led to my height of frustration. This is because I believe that this statement epitomizes the fact that collectively, we are still in the dark ages when it pertains to race and racism. I say this simply because; no one should feel the need to empathize with an individual for being a particular race. Why would I empathize, with someone for being Black, White or Asian? A race is not an affliction, it is not a disease, nor is it or should be a form of strife. My race is by definition, the physical manifestation of the genes that are present in my DNA passed down generationally through my ancestors. Neither I, nor anyone else for that matter needs empathy for something as self-evident and simple as being born a particular race. Empathy can be saved for issues like unemployment, homelessness, being underpaid and overworked. Think about walking a mile in their shoes because they are experiencing strife that is universal and could happen to almost anyone. However, I do not need empathy for my skin color.

In addition to this, before any individual decides to explain that this writer may have meant empathy for the struggles of certain races. I will reiterate that no one from any race needs empathy for being a particular race. No individual needs to be able to walk in the shoes of another race for one simple reason. Each of us, regardless of race, should have enough ethics and principles to know that all they need to show towards another human being is respect and equality. Race has nothing do with how we each need to treat each other. Do not empathize with me, simply treat me the same way you would treat another individual from your own race and that’s enough for me. When everyone can do this, there would be no reason for sympathy or empathy, only fairness and universal respect.