A good friend of mine told me a joke today. "Why don't you put your hand in a Jar of Jellybeans?" he asked. I already knew the answer, but I figured I would let him go on with the joke. "Why not?" I responded. "Because the black one will steal your watch!" Now, I'm not a self-righteous person by any means but I'll let you know something: I hate racist jokes. I think they are demeaning and just distasteful. I think we could all do without them. However while I was trying to wrap my head around the fact that my friend was encouraging inequality things got worse. "Guess where I heard that from?" "Where?" I asked figuring it was from his brother or one of his friends. "One of the kids, a 6 year old, in my Kindergarten Art class" (My friend is a student teacher at some school). Needless to say, I was appalled. Not only is it heart-wrenching to experience ignorant hate in everyday life but to hear it from a six year old takes it to a whole new level. Kids aren't born with hate, and I doubt that this child even knows what this joke means, but it's just scary to think that kids are still being brought up to be hateful.
I remember times in my life when I was subjected daily to people making racist comments. Whether they be scathing comments from peers at school or "playful" jokes made by the people I worked with I felt like it was unavoidable. I can even remember times when congregation members at the church I attended would say things I couldn't believe I heard in such a place. Worst of all, I can think of times when I found myself regurgitating jokes and comments I have heard from the people in my life. Luckily in high school I had the realization that there was no sense in hating people for any reason whatsoever. Although I felt a divide develop between me and my peers I made a lot of friends with similar ideals who helped me in my decision.
While my friends have supported and encouraged me in my anti-racist stance there is another stream that I find refreshing: Music. The particular music in this case is Crimpshrine's "In My Mind." You know those songs that are so tantamount that you remember exactly where you were when you first heard it? Well, this is one of them. It was a sunny October day I was walking home from my friend John's house, which is only a couple blocks away. I had my MP3 player on shuffle and this song came on. "Am I a Black Man? (no) Am I a White Man? (no)" sang lead singer Jeff Ott. Could it be?! A song that was released the same year I was born could perfectly describe what I was going through. It was almost as if I had known the band my entire life. "I doubt I'll ever choose or decide, and I'll still be the same inside, not gonna clutter my head with stupid pride" Proceeded Ott as the song began to pick up. Now for the kill. The line that just does it for me. "We all have minds, stupidity is not what they're for." I think if everybody could just hear this song, particularly this line, we wouldn't have half of our problems. Because that will never happen I guess the only thing that there is to do is be an example of a loving, accepting person.
