Good morning! Somehow I felt compelled to share my thoughts regarding the violence and how it gets reported. Probably because of the reactions that I have seen being shared. Not that long ago, there was a report of a 17 year old kid being shot and killed in Florida. While I have a strong tendency to not split hairs, I have to share that this child was exploited in the racial light. People need to understand that violence happens everywhere and it does not all get reported with such vigor. Just the ones that can create controversial thought.
For at least a century, people have been battling racism... probably longer. Racism is a hot topic that will never truly cool off because of history and personal attachment to diversity. People are exposed to crucial behavior since birth, people get reputations because of the actions of some, and with those preconceived notions being taught... there will always be judgmental behavior. While there has been a slight turn in offering innocence until proven guilty, it has to be understood that not every person is equal because of taught levels of tolerance. A few highlights of history that I can pull out of my head this morning are the equality issues stemming from race and gender. Women fighting for equal rights to men, and people of another race (aka color) fighting for respect. While religion has also become a hot topic with terrorist attacks on 911, people have been exposed to more controversial thought of one another. Please understand that it is not the race, religion or creed that defines the undesirable in people, but the acts that they choose to take upon. Not every person that differs from who you are all the undesirable trait. I have met some really nice people that are labeled "black", "Mexican", "Indian", "Chinese", and so forth. While some people choose to share their heritage by hyphenating their heritage with American, not all these people are truly from these other countries and are legal citizens of this great nation. This is personal segregation and the seed for racism. While I completely disagree in segregation and believe in the context of our constitution that "all men are created equal", I also believe that this does not just limit itself to just men, but women and children, too. While religion does state a little more tolerance and has proven to ask for respect of every living thing, even the fact that religion is becoming ridiculed. The foundation is basically the same... just the practices are different. You have to realize that truly being tolerant takes more than drawing that line in the sand to who you are as a person. Even though we all bleed the same color of blood if we were cut, somehow people still believe that we all differ more just because of what is on the surface. Even though we are entitled to think differently, should not place such emphasis on who is right and who is wrong. Only one is to judge and that is faith based. I just do not see faith passing judgement on its own creation because of different appearance.
As the mainstream media chooses to create sensationalism and controversy, it is the right for every person to have an opinion, but if the facts are skewed because of color, creed, race or gender... then there should be equality in sharing every event and not just the ones that easily create lines being drawn in the sand. Do you see that happening? Nope. Violence happens every day. People are getting hurt all the time. Hiding the fact that there is more violence out there from gangs and people that mentally turned for the worse by choice or by the desire to feel accepted by a group. It is what is learned to be acceptable by those that have the largest influence that becomes habit. Idolizing some rapper that dresses with baggy pants, walks with a certain swagger, and states to "put a cap in the ass" of someone will create a following of individuals that refuse to be individuals in the sea of people. You can call them "lemmings", but it is embracing what they think would make them "cool" or accepted is at fault here. Just have 2 things that manage to get a reputation and combine them, and there you have it.... the ingredients for bigotry and instant fear to act or react. While the mainstream media shows a different picture that shows innocence and purity, they emphasize the filthy, seedy underbelly of the incident. If I was to act like a thug, dress like a thug, and talk like a thug, but be quite intelligent, nice and trustworthy.... where does the judgment stand? Am I a thug or a nice person? If you cannot show who you really are as an individual, then you will be judged upon appearance. Thanks to celebrity from diversity, everyone is up for scrutiny. While people will still fight to stop prejudice, they are adding fuel to the fire by being prejudicial and playing the race, creed or religion card. Nobody has the time nor patience to get all the facts beyond what they see on the surface. As everyone draws a line in the sand, the truth of it all is that battles like this will never end.
Thanks for reading and have a great day.
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