I like to think that I am an optimistic realist, but sometimes something crops us that shows that deep down, on a visceral level, I am an idealist. I try to keep this blog pretty light, but I am not going to hide the fact that some things that happen in the world are just plain wrong, so I am interrupting my usual perky ramblings with some much more serious fare.
Lately, between the Treyvon Martin situation and Hunger Games fans with racist views commenting on the movie’s casting, I have been saddened and disgusted by the racist attitudes that persist in our culture. Let me point out that I am aware that I am extremely privileged to have the luxury of being mostly unaware of these racist attitudes to this point. I mean, I have known that our society is by no means perfect when it comes to race, but I get to live my life as a fair-skinned person without worrying about the message my skin color sends about me or whether I will be considered equally for a job (even as a woman, I don’t have to worry about this, since my profession is almost entirely female.) I suspect that people of color may not be as shocked and disappointed about these stories as I am. Angry, yes. Frustrated, absolutely. Marching and protesting. But they butt up against these racial attitudes day after day, and that’s much more sad than my disappointment that people still can’t see each other as people – more alike than we are different.
These racial attitudes are horribly insidious, and I am not immune. I catch myself being wary of dark-skinned men more often than lighter-skinned ones or having thoughts about families I encounter that tie into stereotypes. And I am sure there are thoughts and behaviors I have that I am not even aware of. So, I try to educate myself, catch those patterns of thought and behavior and change them. I try to step out of my cocoon of privilege. And with these things in the news, I am taking the opportunity to spread the word here. Racism is alive and well in America, in case you hadn’t noticed. I’d love to hear thoughts on ways that we can all work to undercut those views. I don’t expect a lot of disagreement with this post, but I encourage discussion, as long as everyone keeps things civil. Any comments that are disrespectful, threatening, etc. will be deleted.
I wonder, and I wander 