Monday, July 23, 2012

Racism Tirade

No one ever calls me a racist.  I'm white, married to a black man.  It actually says "colored" and "negro" on his birth certificate.  He may not be "dark" but he was black "enough" back in the days when it mattered.

I live in a neighborhood, predominately black and latino.  I have neighbors who are in the country illegally.

Ron told me, many years ago, that black people could be racist, too.  I didn't really see it until I got on Facebook.  People forget they have white "friends" and they start liking things that make my hair curl.   It was really bad after that shooting in Florida.  Very polarized: very ugly.

Normally, I just ignore it, but I found one post in particular very offensive.  It has a photo of the shooter, says "Because he is white, he is mentally ill [but if he were another race they would use different names]"  Clearly, they have no grasp of mental illness.

Would I do something like that off my meds, if I had the firepower?  Quite possibly!  It should scare anyone to realize that!

Isn't it a good idea, for me, then, to be under a doctor's care, and medicated, rather than mocked?    Seems obvious to me - but then I am crazy.   You really want to mock people with mental illness = not smart.

No, the way she saw it, "Crazy" is just a cop out for white people.  AGH.  I detest it when people minimalize mental illness.  Screw you, spellchecker.  I spelled "minimalize" correctly.  You can take your red underlines and shove it.

So, that was strike one.

Strike two "Oh, the white boy's going to get off because he has a fake mental illness".

It's not about color, stupid.  A killer is a killer whatever the color.  I said "You've obviously never had mental illness.  This is very racist, and I'm a white woman married to a black man."  Of course they will hate it, probably delete it, flame it, and maybe the person who "liked" it will delete me.

That's fine.  She found me in a work group anyway.  It's always a little weird having the work and personal mixed like that.

If I tell Ron, he'll give me the "Don't cast your pearls before swine" lecture.  I just get sick of it.

Why do we have to put people in boxes?  You are one color, you go in this box.  Don't play with anyone outside of your box unless you are fornicating or beating them up.  You go in this box.  Same rules.  Go in this box.  Now you have to hate all the other boxes.  They have it better than you.  They are out to get you.  They think you are inferior.

STUPID STUPID STUPID.

God created ALL of us.  Jesus died for ALL of us!   He didn't select color!  The samaritans were the MOST hated group in the Middle East.  They were of mixed blood, hebrew and "imported pagans".  They worshipped weird Gods, some practiced human sacrifice, etc.  Yet Jesus is found spending time with them, loving them, ministering to them, and healing them.

They were WORSE than the N-bomb.  Worse.  And the New Testament is full of his love towards them.  Now, the gentiles were considered filthy to the Jews.  Yet, in Acts, Peter is COMMANDED to reach out to them.  Paul is actually commissioned to go preach the gospel to the gentiles.

Acts 10:28
Then he said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.


1 comment:

Jillian said...

"To a world sick with racism..get well soon.."-Janet Jackson.

Racism knows no colour. I wish more people realized that. I'm mixed blood myself..technically. I'm a Heinz 57 by ethnicity. My mother is mainly French, with Metis (mix of French and First Nations, or Native American, as you say in the USA, heritage) heritage on her Dad's side, along with some Jewish heritage, too (three Jewish great-great-great grandmothers (not sure how many "great's" off the top of my head, but one was in the direct matrilineal line.), as well as one Great-Grandma who was English nobility. My father was/is English and Scottish.

So, I'm French-Metis-English-Scottish-Jewish. I'm also a Roman Catholic. What a mouthful.

I "look white", whatever the heck that means, but to some First Nations people, I'm not 'Native enough", wheras to some white people, I'm not "white enough". Other people have a fleeting, but very odd reaction when I tell them of the Jewish heritage.

I'm a card-carrying member of the Manitoba Metis Federation, but some people don't see me as "really" Metis. Others do. It's maddening.

I've struggled with racial identity my whole life,and wished I could be "just one thing" or the other. I've finally reconciled to the fact that I'm a cultural pupu platter, and am just ME, and most importantly, loved by God.