Do NOT Accept or Tolerate: RACISM

When my family tuned into the news a week ago, and watched the rioting begin to escalate in Ferguson Missouri, we were awe struck at the sheer audacity of the entire situation. The verdict was given during the day, and yet for some unknown reason the powers that be opted to wait to announce that Michael Browns murderer would walk free of all charges at 9pm at night EST.

Two days before the verdict was given, the armed forces were called in, and a full riot squad stood outside the courthouse for upwards of 48 hours in anticipation.

Why? Have you stopped to ask yourself this? The authorities, state, military and police all knew the threat of emotional reaction, and further rioting were a reality should Officer Darren Wilson not be indicted on charges of murder. They were aware enough to have the national guard standing guard, aware enough to have riot gear, tanks, tear gas, and dozens of officers at the ready. And yet, for whatever preposterous reason, the verdict was not given until the sun had set on Ferguson. Had they announced it earlier that day, or waited until the following morning, it may have been much easier to quell riots by the light of day. It was as if the authorities were preparing for a full out riot, willingly, if not encouraging it outright.

If that was the case, why? The only answer one can possibly surmise is that any bad press against the black residents of Ferguson would serve to take the focus off of the verdict itself, and place the worlds focus on the very people mourning the death of the 18 year old man, instead of the outrageous reality that his killer was walking free.

I watched as the atmosphere on social media began to get very stormy, and was disgusted at the sheer number of racist tweets being broadcast as a result. I have always known racism is alive and well in North America, but it didn't fully hit me until I saw just how disgustingly ignorant people can be when it comes to skin color. Many of these people asked twitter "why do you people have to make it about race?" when the reality is the entire incident was entirely about race. Had Michael Brown been a Caucasian man, would he still be alive? We have no way to truly know, but there is enough speculation worldwide based on real numerical statistics coming out of Ferguson, Missouri, and the United States, to indicate that when faced with shooting a suspect or criminal, police are much more inclined to shoot first, and ask questions later when the perpetrator is a black male. Of course it was about race, as the black community in Ferguson became outraged at the unnecessary death of a young 18 year old man over a liquor store theft.

Further shocking to me, was the amount of tweets coming from twitter, indeed still being circulated, stating that "you commit a crime, you deserve to get shot". Again, had the perpetrator been a white male I don't think those people would be as quick to condemn.

It galls to know that in 2014 racism is not only still thriving in North America, but that it is still denied, lied about, and taught to our young. Political correctness is the worse thing we have undertaken as a civilized society globally, teaching us to turn our insults into veiled tongue in cheek jibes. As long as you word something the right way, all bets are off. We are taught to be "tolerant" or "accepting" and that truly pisses me off in ways I cannot describe and maintain any modicum of decor. If we don't trust or like someone because their skin is brown, and brown people are historically prone to violence, or drugs, or gang activity, or terrorism, or WHATEVER - then we must learn to accept them and tolerate them?

Give me a break!

I am very much against social tolerance and acceptance, it is an insidious lie, perpetrated by politicians, who know how to say all the wrong things in all the right ways. Since when do we let politicians dictate our moral compass, or expound upon the proper way to communicate? Politicians are by and large paid to be very savvy liars. Politicians have made billions off of the campaigning between Republicans and Democrats in the USA, and there is no middle ground anymore. You have a country of hundreds of millions of people who are either left, or right, and nary the twain shall agree or meet. It is disgusting - entire beliefs, ideals, morals, and behaviors are split down the middle, until neighbors no longer get along due to political differences.

When did live and let live become a part of our historical rear window view?

I do not tolerate black people. I do not accept Iraqi's. I will never TRY to accept or tolerate anyone. Who the hell am I to look down on someone, anyone, in the long run? I do try to walk a mile, use my empathy, and understand people who are different from me. Those differences are not skin deep, and are very much based on behavior and attitude. If you are cruel, bigoted, violent, or crass chances are I'm not going to trust you very much. I may even "write you off" if you're in the extreme. However I will most certainly try to see you in a bigger way, remembering you are someones child, someones love, someones parent, someones friend. Your skin color doesn't mean anything to me. And it shouldn't to anyone else.

I'm sick to death of racism, and racists. I know quite a few racist people, all of them are white. All of them have no higher than a high school education. All of them tend to be closed minded, if not somewhat selfish, lacking in culture or class, and for the most part, they are ignorant by nature. This isn't to say they aren't nice people. Some of them are my friends. But they know if they are going to make racist comments within my earshot they are going to have to back those comments up with facts, statistics, knowledge. None of them ever can. It usually boils down to "i used to live _____ and there were so many _____ there and all they ever did was ______."

Generalized bullshit based on smallworld experiences that equal nothing in the grand scheme of things.

I urge, encourage, and challenge you to stop accepting or tolerating other people. It is the most detrimental thing we can learn, or teach our children. I don't want you to be tolerant of black people, Muslims, homosexuals, transgenders, Catholics, Atheists, Mentally challenged people... etc etc etc. Do not be tolerant of people who are different than you; do not be accepting of them. Be HUMAN WITH them. Because there is NO difference between you, and any other single solitary human being on this planet.

We are all born the same way, we all have parents, family, we all go to school and are indoctrinated by our culture to become the people we become. We are taught to value this, and reject that, we are expected to live in accordance with the society and culture we are born into. And whether that culture is Islamic, or gangs, or religious cults, or wealthy snobby country club members, or tropical islanders... we are all people. We all love, and are loved, we all have our own personal challenges, skeletons in our closets, bad habits, fears, and insecurities.

And if you're judging anyone else based on your view of how they live, I suggest you take a good long hard look in the mirror, because you must have been raised by some very ignorant people, and you'll want to get a little mind expanding knowledge into your life, lest you become just another played out stereotype.

No, do not accept or tolerate anyone, acceptance is best used to deal with life experiences. I am overweight, it is an insecurity, yet I accept myself as I am. THAT is what acceptance is for - to learn to live with something that otherwise brings you down. Tolerance should only apply to things like food, drink; I don't tolerate wine very well, it gives me a headache. I have a low tolerance for ignorant people. I have a high pain tolerance.

The only way to break the cycle of racism in North America is to be honest and open about it. What is going on in Ferguson, and in other States as people protest the verdict, and the murder of Michael Brown is a huge step towards shining a light on a problem that is NOT GOING AWAY. It is only through making it very clear to every single person possible that racism is a problem, one that needs dealing with, that we will begin to actually teach people to stop being so closed minded, ignorant, foolish, judgmental, and ill mannered.

I applaud anyone peacefully protesting. I understand those who got violent, and the frustration and anger and fear that caused them to go to extremes. I cannot even imagine what it must be like to be a second class citizen. I was born white in Canada, my life hasn't had a lot of hardship or struggle. But I will openly and honestly say that yes - I see the struggle people of different races are undertaking, and whether you're Asian, Hispanic, Black, Indian... there are all these stupid political correct platitudes "my" people use to put you down, and make it seem cute. It's everywhere on tv, in the media, the stereotypes, the generalizations.

So I am making my stand, here and now. My line in the sand is drawn. I will not tolerate or accept your racism North America. I will stand up to it every time it rears it's ugly poorly educated head.

And I urge all free thinking Spiritualists to do the same. We cannot attain global unity until we do away with these harmful divides we have built up between ourselves. Those divides have become mile high walls. And it's time to knock them the @#^& down!