I have different views on racism, depending on what aspect of racism we are addressing. It is an issue that is complex and intertwined with many other social issues. Here I address one aspect of racism.
As some may have read in my
previous blog entries, I was born in Cuba and came to the United States when I
was five. My parents, while not
racists, were separatists in the sense that they did not believe that different
races should intermarry and have children. I remember constantly arguing with them about
this growing up because I didn’t see what the big deal was. We all have the same body parts and we bleed
the same color. Their main arguments
were that society did not treat children who were a product of a bi-racial union
the same, and the concern about which race would bi-racial children identify
with. My response was always “who cares
what society thinks?”. The injustice and
unfairness of it all made me defend my stance on this subject. Interestingly enough they had black friends
who visited our home, and some relatives on each side who married blacks and
Asians, and had children.
Something that is different from
other cultures to the Cuban culture is that to most Cubans, black Cubans are
not considered “black”. They are
considered Cuban. They may refer to them
as “el negro”, but its used as an affectionate, and friendly term much like how
the term “gordita” is used to address an overweight or fat woman in an
affectionate manner. Translated to
English “gordita” is the equivalent of “fatty” that has a totally negative
connotation.
As a young adult, I would watch
the news and read articles about the demonstrations and protests by the blacks
against racial issues. Being a white
person it was really difficult to see what the need for any of this was. Blacks
could live anywhere, and had the same freedom, and opportunities, so what was
the problem?
Through the years I had more
interactions on a closer social basis with blacks from many different
countries, not just Americans, and my suspicions were right. They are like everyone else. I also had the opportunity to ask questions,
which is second nature to me because I’m very inquisitive. I asked some of my friends if they ever felt
discriminated, and if so why or how. I
received several examples of how they experienced “feeling different” or
singled out in their daily lives. Even the black Cubans. Most
indicated they were watched in stores while they were shopping, or had been passed
over for a job by someone who was less qualified but white. I think what I expected was more severe examples, actions
that would enrage anyone into wanting to protest out in the streets. What I learned is that the subtle instances
that go imperceptible to those of us who are not black are what eventually nag
at you when they are directed at you. So
I got it. I understood the anger and
feeling of helplessness and unfairness at being singled out, even in an almost
imperceptible manner.
Then I thought about shootings
and gang related deaths, they usually take place in inner city neighborhoods
where even the police don’t want to go.
Whose fault are these? Is it the
white man that is coming in, and taking over, and selling the drugs to black
kids or creating gangs? No, it’s black
men who are doing this. It is black men
who are making the wrong choices to be criminals, to be drug dealers, to put
black children’s lives at risk over, and over again. It’s their choice to
belong to gangs, to not go to school, and to want an “easy” way out, by selling
drugs or engaging in other illegal activities.
They do nothing to improve their situation. You can call it stereotypical and racist to
portray a black man this way, but it is not.
It’s not because there are whites, Latinos, and Asians that engage in
similar behavior, and there is no excuse for it. But you don’t see whites, Latinos
and Asians protesting about their lot in life, they accept that their choice to
be losers is why they have done nothing in their life, they don’t blame black
people or any other race or cultural group for their lack of motivation and bad
choices.
The reality is that slavery can’t
continue to be blamed. Discrimination
and racism at this point are just excuses used by black opportunists like Al
Sharpton to promote race versus race problems in this country. I find it offensive that every time a black
man dies in an incident related to gun violence people like Sharpton come out
of the woodwork, and start protesting.
Where are they when these kids are growing up in impoverished
areas? Why aren’t they supporting their
fellow blacks to improve their situation instead of constantly complaining
about it on the national news? People
like Sharpton make me sick because all they are is opportunists who really don’t
care about other people, only their own agenda.
And yet, he has the gall to equate himself to Martin Luther King, and
call himself a civil rights leader, when all he wants to do is continue to
promote hatred, and separation. If he
invested as much time helping black children, and black men succeed as he does in
getting them riled up, and keeping them down by filling them with anger,
resentment and an unreasonable feeling of never ending entitlement, then all
blacks living in those circumstances would be in a better place, not burning up
and destroying their own neighborhoods, and ending up arrested.
Instead of being a motivational
speaker, they are demotivating their fellow black Americans by making them
believe that they should be receiving entitlements because their ancestors had
to endure slavery, and that white men owe them something. Unfortunately it is easy to influence those
who are angry, and feel that they are owed something. Look what happened to Cuba with Castro, and look
where it got them.
So definitely awareness of the
issue is important for conscientious change.
But is that enough to solve the racial problem? No. In
my life whenever anyone has ever told me that they have a problem, or even when
I have had a problem, I have always tended not to focus on the problem, but to
immediately focus on solutions. I
strongly believe that as humans and as Americans we need to become less problem
focused and more solution oriented or we will never move out of the current
mindset.
So, in my solution oriented mind,
I think to resolve the racism issue in this country and the divisiveness that
exists we have to first get to the bottom of the actual problem. Getting to the bottom is not rehashing
slavery, ad nauseam. So that needs to be
put to the side, and not addressed as a present issue, because the reality is, it
is not.
As time has gone by we have seen a
great majority of black Americans succeeding in life, graduating from
universities, being gainfully employed at good jobs, owning their own
businesses, acquiring wealth, basically living the American dream. Why were these black Americans able to excel
and fulfill their goals? They are not
genetically different. They were not
born into rich families. They are just average Americans taking control of
their own lives and achieving their goals.
This demonstrates that there is opportunity. This demonstrates that racism isn’t such a
detrimental factor that you can’t overcome whatever racism you feel you are
experiencing to accomplish your goals.
Since our focus here is to change
things the first place I would start to make changes is in our neighborhoods
and schools. Money definitely needs to
be allocated to improve inner city schools, that is a given. Another important move would be incorporating
black history into regular American History.
There is no reason why the contributions of every single person whether
black, white, Latino or Asian should not be incorporated into American History,
and taught in our school system. We need
to have a sense of unity as a country.
Something I find counterproductive is everyone’s hyphenated nationality.
At this point in time, if your parents were not born in Africa, then you are
not African-American. You are an American.
Same applies to everyone else.
As Americans we also need to
loosen up and accept that each race and cultural group living in this country
has their basic differences, and that in order to respect each other, and see
each other as equals we have to acknowledge the differences, be able to joke
about the differences without being offended, and embrace the differences.
I listen to Power 96, a local
radio station in Miami. They have 3 morning
radio hosts. One black man, a woman of
Cuban descent, and a man also of Hispanic descent, who were all born in this
country so they are American. They have this segment called “Black, White,
Hispanic or Other”. During this segment they read an article about someone who committed
a crime of some sort and were arrested. Most of the crimes involved some action
that can be generally attributed to a particular group. The listeners then call in to win prizes if
they can guess if the person committing the offense was Black, White, Hispanic
or Other. In the beginning I thought
this only promoted racism, and stereotyping but after listening to the show
almost daily, I realized that what it does is portray the differences that are
inherent to each races and/or culture. It’s this type of openness without fear of
being labeled or criticized that promotes unity. Everyone laughs on the show, makes jokes about
how stupid the person was to get caught doing whatever they did, and they move
on. Unfortunately the television media
is not as open. Problems, tragedy, and
heated issues keep people plugged in and watching. I don’t think that it’s a stretch to say that
the media has played a very important part in the continued divisiveness in
this country, but that’s an entirely separate topic.
In summation we need to let go of the past, clean up neighborhoods,
improve education, and respect and acknowledge the differences in others. This is accomplished through relaxed open
communication, not skirting around the issue in order to not be offensive. Since it is impossible to brainwash closed
minded people of any race into acceptance or change, we need to start with the
younger generation so that we can work towards better future results. Any positive
change will inevitably improve the situation.
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