There has been a shift in my thinking after watching videos of the riots seen in the US and protest seen around the world over the past week.
I was and still am disturbed and saddened by the death of a black brother and fellow human named George Floyd. This seemed to be the cork holding back the frustration of other folks dealing with poverty, injustice, and being marginalized.
It sparked a reaction from people of all races that filled their city streets to let those who have been bestowed power that there is no tolerance for the abuse of any human.
In my reading of Alan Watts, I have gleaned this idea. What makes black people different makes them more like you if you aren't already black.
We all have differences and these differences unite us contrary to what racists may believe.
If we were all the same it would be as a result of some mistake in a lab that allowed 8 billion humans to be made identically. Imagine the catastrophe that would happen if we as clones were to get a virus with a high fatality rate.
George and the spirit he embodies is being respected around the world, but what I've seen is, despite the surface difference, the outcome of (provoke and unprovoked) riots that result from police brutality have something in common with covid-19. Both destroy. Both leave scars.
One leaves a scar in the lung and the other in a city and on the heart.
The main difference is that while our bodies defense against covid-19 is a good thing because it is preserving our life, the response towards protests is a harmful thing. Some have been killed, others blinded, and others run over by government vehicles.
This blatant disregard of human life is so rampant, that the elderly and children who are in the city are in danger even if they are peacefully sitting on their own property.
It seems as though the thing that protesters are drawing attention to... that violence and brutality towards black people is not tolerated... protesting against this very thing is being met by additional violence. Authorities are imposing curfews on folks who have already been social isolating which is adding fuel to the fire.
The body's response to covid-19 seems to be a beautifully pure thing in comparison. It takes a few days to organically make a solution to the covid-19 in those that are healthy and most recover in a couple weeks.
But the true comparison... the thing that is the true problem is discrimination based on race and this must be removed and stopped, not the protesters.
Racism is much more difficult to kill than a virus. It is easy to see in others, but in ourselves it takes careful analysis. It is easy to spot racism when someone is being murdered in broad daylight, but difficult to see a racist thought and decisions that lead to overtly racist words and deeds.
Could just viewing humans and humans and looking past the a person's race fix this? Absolutely not. That would be like saying I should take a field of colorful flowers and remove their color to make sure I value each flower the same.
There is something beautiful about color. Something beautiful about skin that is so dark, sometimes it looks blue. There is a beauty in seeing photos of Latin Americans that look racially diverse between white, brown, and black despite being ethnically from the same place. There is a beauty in seeing white people that may have the same race, but have an ethnicity that typically involves travelling over an ocean if their are in the US. There is a beauty in any person that comes from an unvisited place and graces us with their presence.
Diversity is beautiful. Diversity is part of our story as humans. How did I get from where I was to where you are? How did I come from where I was?
The stories we bring to each other compose a vast experiential library and each of us make this library more rich and more valuable when we are all added to it. The stories are more colorful with each chapter added to our pages.
Part of the pain in seeing videos of riots is watching people shift from remembering the death of George Floyd and decrying the lack of morals that would allow his death... seeing this turn (even if it is provoked by non-protesters) to violence and destruction of property and violence towards other humans.
Some would say any violence to ones city goes is counter intuitive. Wouldn't one want to see the place where they live be protected and preserved? Why give the main stream media a path to present to worst of the people in protests to those that trust content from the media?
Others would say that violence against another human is also counter intuitive. Why harm someone else who is also on this earth as we are? Why cause damage to someone that they may have to live with for the rest of their life?
To unlock the actions of violence from rioters, you need to consider that while we are all created equal, we are not all treated equal. To those who don't have the resources to provide for themselves and their families, their view of the world is much different than those who wake up with the resources to exercise and appreciate their freedom.
Even if there are provokers in protests, their provocation is successful because some people don't feel they are treated based freedoms they possess. This could be financial, residential, or even the freedom to walk to the grocery store without people making assumptions based on skin color, status, or sexual orientation.
From this lack of freedom, the thought of "If I can't have, others can't have" is born and leads to many cities with their blocks in flames.
What is the solution?
I think the best thing one can do can't be done in a simple way when it comes to race and how others perceive different races.
But we can examine our actions, decisions, and motives.
Look at where you spend your money and time. Look at what games you play and the books you read. Is there an unintended or intending leaning to people, creators, or producers of one race or another race? Consider trying to diversify your sources and where you spend your resources. Cultivate a fascination in immersing yourself in a worldview different than your own.
If you use social media, consider diversifying those you follow. If you listen to music, consider diversifying your playlist.
This diversification can help us begin to see the world anew, and thus enrich our story. So we can see that no human is excluded from humanity.
When I was younger, I remember one of my mom's African American friend came over for dinner and when the conversation of race came up, I said I was Hispanic. The lady said that the world won't care where I come from, that I would be seen as a black man.
I didn't like her words, because I thought where I came from was as important as what I looked like and her reduction seemed foolish.
My parents come from the Dominican Republic and were born there. The DR has a beautiful thing going for it. People from around the world have called the DR home. My dad is much lighter and my mom is much darker than me.
Depending on the season I may have light beige skin or be as dark as a Vienna roast coffee bean.
When I was young, in a Hispanic community, I had a very binary view of the world based on the language a person used. If they spoke Spanish they were Spanish. If they spoke English they were American.
Fast forward to now, I realize that my upbringing is a priceless gift. The part of my brain that can understand and appreciate Spanish has been the fertile ground for appreciating all languages and all peoples. If I meet someone new that spoke a non-English I would try to learn one word from their language.
I am pretty sure I pissed off my former Chinese coworker because I filled a white board with phonetized (I think this is an English word) words and phrases from her language that I struggled to say properly after two years of practice. I may have gotten "ni-hao" tonally correct.
But at the end of the day, if someone walked up to me and said I was black, I disliked the reduction of who I was to an appearance.
In this time, while the world is accepting others for all the skin shades they are or can be, I need to further embrace the fact that I am a black person and everything associated with this.
Regardless how my African influence arrived in my blood line, it is a good thing!
For us s fellow humans, it is a good thing to have people from Africa and of African descent in our lives. They should be respected for the beautiful people they are.
Image sources:
https://unsplash.com/@tchompalov
https://unsplash.com/@munshots
https://unsplash.com/@libraryofcongress
https://unsplash.com/@capturedby_kiana
https://unsplash.com/@thevoncomplex
https://unsplash.com/@asaelamaury
https://unsplash.com/@anniespratt
