Do what you fear and fear no more.

I reveal this hodgepodge about myself to expose my inconsistencies with committment and lack of branded affiliation. I'm not a Democrat. I'm not a Republican. I'm morally liberal and politically conservative. I was baptized Mormon, raised in a Methodist Church and am technically an Episcopalian although we attend a Baptist church because that's where our daughter wants to go. I'm white and I'm a woman and I can't do anything about it. I was fortunate enough to be raised by people who didn't indoctrinate me with shame, fear or bigotry. **I believe those things are learned** Our actions however, are chosen.

***It is important that I tell you now that this post is about to take a turn toward the truth. (My truth anyway - or the truth as I see it) Some people are highly likely to disagree and may find my language inflammatory.***



Owen & Mzee


There is and always has been a "race" in this country. A race to a preverbal finish line that once crossed, the winners believe they will have achieved supreme racial superiority and things will start going their way. Every ethnicity believes that their rights and way of life are somehow infringed upon or threatened, and they/we are poised and ready for a victory - should the actual foot race ever begin. We've reached a pinnacle of political correctness in this country that has brought the possibility of any truthful discourse to a screeching halt. Everyone feels backed into an octagonal corner and is ready to charge, chant, rant or protest at the drop of a floppy hat. I despise using terms like "African American" or "Hispanic American" or "Italian American". I'm not referred to as "Irish, French Canadian, Southern American". And I'm not - because it's stupid. I think it's stupid to refer to people based on their supposed ethnicity and then add on the tail end that they're American too! I believe those labels perpetuate separatism. If you were born here or have acquired citizenship here, then you're an American. Being one automatically implies that "no one really knows where the Hell your ancestors came from, nor do we care because we can all live here together and to Hell with our homelands 'cause it's more awesome in America than anywhere else or we wouldn't still be here". So henceforth I shall refer to people the way I myself like to be talked about. I prefer to be known as a skinny white girl, but for this post, white girl will suffice. I will describe people by their color, purely to identify them for a significant reason as they pertain to the story. (i.e. white = white/European person, black = black/African person, brown = brown/Mexican person etc...)

I think we are ALL (and by all I mean every person on planet Earth) prejudiced. We all pre-judge. Whether it be by race, color, sex, clothing, affluence, scent, touch, tolerability, whatever. Everyone forms a quick judgement based on the immediate evidence provided in the item or person before them. If you say you don't, you're a liar. If you actually believe that you don't, you're lying to yourself. I do it, you do it, the dog does it. Even my sweet lil ole' Grandma does it. Correction: did it - she's dead now. My point is that there's nothing wrong with judgement. It serves us well if we use it properly. And by nature, because we're human (animal also) we flock to our own kind. White people congregate, black people congregate, brown people congregate. We go where we feel accepted and find commonality. This isn't wrong, it's natural. What's wonderful about this is that on occasion you'll find us all mingling. Like a hippo who's friends with a turtle; or a cat who buddies up to a horse. Sure it looks weird, but it's awesome. We can all find commonality, we just have to be willing to look a little harder to find it with people who aren't like us.

Two of my best friends as a child were black girls. We didn't socialize a lot at school but school was where we became friends. I'm not even sure what it was that drew me to these cousins, but they liked me equally as well. We just sort of "got" each other. And to this day, we still do. To my knowledge we never minded or ever gave a moment's thought to any opposition to our friendship. We went places together and drew a few "Why are those black girls hanging out with that skinny white girl?" looks. But we didn't care. And it was wonderful. It is wonderful still, these and other amazing friendships I've cultivated with people who are not-like me.

Being able to own my prejudices has served me well in my life. I know that I judge, but I also know it is wrong to qualify my judgements. I can not validate them or use them to separate, segregate or tip the scales of inequality in my favor. No one race or sex or religion is entitled to more or less freedoms than the next. There is no such thing as superiority. And what keeps us fighting this cultural war is our sheepish inability to tell that to the parades of morons, be they black, white or brown who shout from the rafters every time they feel they've been attacked. That's not to say that race isn't a motivating factor in behaviors (and certainly many criminal ones). I mean that if we are to someday eradicate racial and sexual inequality, then we need every body, every race, every sex to unite under the banner of justice and equality. If we can't expect that or accept that, then we are our demise.

The media has captured our recent attention by focusing on a black 17 year old boy in FL who was murdered by a brown man for "looking suspicious". People are actually arguing over whether or not this kid did anything to deserve this. The 911 operator told the neighborhood watch guy to stay put and not follow the kid. He went after an unarmed boy and shot him in cold blood. An altercation may have ensued, but the dead man can tell no tale. His argument and defense has been obliterated for nothing. There is no argument here. Just like there is no argument for the the four black men in TN who car-jacked a young white couple, raped the boy, cut off his penis and for two days, took turns gang raping the girl, then chopped off her breast and poured bleach down her throat before finally killing her. There is no excuse. There is no way to spin this. You can't justify the unjustifiable. Just because you don't like the way something sounds, doesn't mean you can change what happened. You don't get to alter the truth because you can't handle the details of it. There's a RACE alright - and nobody's winning!

There are good people in our country. There are good people right next door to you. There are friends everywhere, you just don't know them yet. I implore you, walk outside your door and be the hippo who makes friends with the turtle. The beastly ugliness in humanity is not confined to a race or a gender. It is confined to the soul of the perpetrators. If we are to be a loud and reckoning force of opposition, let it be against those who would hide the truth to promote agendas. Race is not the enemy here; Injustice and inequality are. It's alright to go to our separate corners, but when it's time to fight, we owe it to ourselves to do it together.