Hatred in the United States.

My wife is constantly reminding me to be positive and I am working on it really. But there are times when I think about the movie, Network, when actor Peter Finch is screaming on television, “I am mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore.” So, know this is an informed rant and read it if you like.

Recently I was visiting with a dear friend. I was asked what I thought about the current events, which I assumed was about our society’s tolerance for racism. I was wrong, it was about the looting during the peaceful protests. It took me a while to really absorb what I was hearing, which is most American white people’s focus on things, not people. So, I started to really pay attention to what my circle of friends were saying about George Floyd’s death (current events) and about racism overall (bigger picture). I found many of my friends who were posting articles of outrage over police brutality, some racism, some stuff about Trump. What I found interesting is most of my circle were quick to blame, but not quick to attempt ownership for the problem (self-included) and wondered why that was.

I wonder how many people know that we are a nation that was founded on racism, more specifically white privilege. If you disagree, pick up a U.S. history book and read it. Our country has made small steps to address this problem over time, but it is more like a zig zag, sometimes positive, sometimes negative, never enough. And if we fast forward to today, we are seeing the extreme of selfishness in our county: greatest divide of income, the death of the America dream (which is a separate issue I am glad to engage on), and wide spread hatred of minorities (not only people of color, but people of minority beliefs). Look at our current POTUS: he had no civil qualifications of government, was a self-acknowledged misogynist, had a previous history of racism, and was running on a platform of anti-immigration. Unfortunately for our society he has proven himself to match the traits of a dictator.

I blame all of our society for racism, and our biggest crime is not acknowledging it. It is easy to pretend it doesn’t exist because it is a point of shame. I recently heard someone compare it to gravity, in the sense that we all know it is there, but it is easy to ignore. So, I think the first thing we need to do is admit we, all citizens of United States, have a problem, and that will be the first step in healing our hatred for minorities. It is the opposite of the supporters of the NRA after a violent hate crime is committed with guns, which is “our thoughts and prayers are with you.” Which in my mind translates into it is not happening to me so I don’t care, which is the same with hatred and racism. I say let’s go back to the AA way of introducing themselves with “Hi, my name is the United States, and I am a racist.” Maybe then we can start to solve the problem and quit worrying about things over people.