“Old concepts of race are socially divisive and scientifically incorrect.”- Dr. Spencer Wells
I am white. I have light colored hair and blue eyes. My ancestors are northern European on my dad’s side, and from the British isles on my mom’s. But did you know that white people (“Caucasian”) don’t all look like me? Caucasian comes from the Caucasus Mountains, and the Caucasian race includes people from not just Europe, but also Northern Africa to Iran, and beyond. So why am I so misjudged? Because of how I look? Hm…lame. I have friends of all ethnicities, backgrounds, nations, etc, and yet I have been accused of being racist because of how I look. Ok….. (Oh, and did I mention I’m in an inter-racial marriage?)
Racism doesn’t only affect people of other ethnicities. And I’m sick of it. I’ve hated it when it’s been thrown at others because of skin color, and I hate it when it’s thrown at me. I honked at a dude in a car the other day because he cut way too close to me on the road. Did I do it because he of a different skin color than me? Of course not! It was a warning! He may not have seen me since I was probably in his blind spot and I wanted him to know I was there. He almost hit my car. Even so, when I eventually passed him he threw out a racial slur against me. Sad, sad. People who do that and complain that “racism is everywhere” are really the ones that perpetuate the problem. Instead of expecting someone of a different ethnicity than you to automatically be racist against you, why don’t you try reconciliation? I know, I know, big word for certain small minds. But, as DC Talk sings, “if we aspire to share this place, repentance is the cure.” And not only repentance for those who actually are racist, but also for those who expect to be prejudiced against. That just creates an atmosphere of fear which should not exist in the first place–I unfortunately experience this first hand on a regular basis. Believe me, if I don’t like you, it’s certainly not because of your skin color! And those whom I don’t like, I don’t go near. There’s just no reason for hate, violence, or anymore pain.
Part of Dc Talk’s “Colored People:”
We’ve gotta come together
And thank the Maker of us all
Well, just a day in the shoes of a color blind man
Should make it easy for you to see
That these diverse tones do more than cover our bones
As a part of our anatomy
We’re colored people, and they call us the human race
[Oh, colored people]
We’re colored people, and we all gotta share this space
[Yeah we’ve got to come together somehow]
We’re colored people, and we live in a tainted world
[Red and yellow, black and white]
We’re colored people, every man, woman, boy, and girl
[Colored people, colored people, colored people, colored people, yeah]
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