RACISM : Will It Ever Die?

I was looking through some articles on internet pertaining to the start up of the NFL season, and the debacle that has flared up again over Brett Favre's return to the game he can't leave. I came across an article written by Jason Whitlock (Fox Sports) titled Is There a Racial Double-standard for Favre? ( article is here) Now the issue of Favre is NOT the focus of my column today. The question in the title of his article came to him from a Los Angeles reader named Gary Taylor which read as follows:

“Would Brett be getting this kind of love if he was a black QB? Hell no!. The media would have called him everything, including the so-called N-word. Your thoughts, JW? I hope he loses every game he plays in. How disrespectful can Minnesota be to the other two QBs on the team.”

This comment is exactly what keeps racism alive! Michael Vick is a Black QB and he received more than fair treatment, and he committed a Federal Crime. Pacman Jones is a Black athlete who had been arrested about 13 times, and still was given opportunities...and I could list about 30 other Black men who have been in high profile situations and have been treated more than fairly.

Jason went on to write that the same day he received an email from his high school, best friend, Willie that read:

“I hate to say this, but if Favre was black, would he be a bad teammate?”

Again, I say...What the HECK does it matter what color he is. His team wants him back because he is a three time MVP, holds almost every single record for a QB in the NFL, and is approaching 70,000 career passing yards. He also had one of the best statistical seasons of his entire 19 year career last year, and led his team to the NFC championship game. Had it not been for 6 fumbles, and an interception, they would have made it to  the Superbowl. So you really think the team cares what color his skin is? He could be purple for all they care...they just want the best chance to win.Again I say...DUMB, racist question from someone looking to keep racism alive.

I have to say that Jason did an OUTSTANDING job handling the question. He was objective and put it out there straight forward. I enjoyed the article...but the bigger issue that struck me is this...Will racism ever die? 

Ask yourself this question...Had slavery never existed int he first place, what would the world be like?

There would still have been people who disliked other people for one reason or another. And, unfortunately, physical appearance is a major cause of dislike in this country weather it's based on the color of your skin, your smell, your look, your car, your house, or your body type. Sometimes, an overweight person may resent a slender person. A short person may dislike taller people for the same reasons, hence the Napoleon complex. People who are considered "non-attractive", may dislike an "attractive" person...ignorant people may dislike smart people. Maybe its from envy, or maybe they are just mad at the world...who knows.You get the idea.

The bottom line is that our society says that it wants racism to be gone, but they hold onto it for every single reason that  they should be doing away with it all together. Everything seems to boil down to Black and White. Don't get me wrong...there are still some truly racists people in the world. There are plenty of opinions on the subject, as I am sure you know, but it seems that the people claiming racial oppression are the very one's being the racist.

I am white...and I have never owned anyone, regardless of their color. I know a ton of racist black guys who have never been a slave, or been forced to do anything against their will for that matter, but they are still mad at me because my great, great, great, great, great, great, grandfather may or may not have owned a slave. Personally, I am not racist in the slightest way. I have many friends of all sorts of races, and I love them all. I dislike ignorance without bias based on color. If you are an idiot, White,Black,Chinese or whatever, who judges someone based on the color of their skin, you are a racist, but that doesn't mean that all those who share their skin color are to be categorized together. All white people don't belong to the KKK, all black people are not members of the Black Panthers, and all Muslims are not terrorists.

True racists exist and they always will, but until we can let go of the past and move forward as a society, racism as a culture will never go away. There are so many people who hold onto the days of their ancestors. They have been taught by their parents, and their grandparents, that these "people of another color" are bad and to be treated poorly. They are less human in some absurd way. They don't realize that their very teaching is what keeps racism alive. Their hatred filters down, generation to generation, and keeps the fire burning. The fact is, society is full of all sorts of people, and in the grand scheme of the population, there are a minimal number of true racists in the mix, comparatively speaking...the message in this is that a few burning embers should not a fire make.

How can we, as a country or society, ever get past the boundaries of racism, when we still treat it as if it is a part of our every day lives? It is the excuse that racist people won't let go of because they need it. How else can they explain why they are in poverty? Why they can't get a job? Why they are always in jail? Everything goes back to racism. I don't have a job, and haven't had one in almost two years, but I can tell you it doesn't have a thing to do with racism, or because we have a Black President. It is because of the economic state of our country. I see people as people, not as colors, and if everyone else would do the same, racism would be so minimal that it would only be noticed by a select few, and could be ignored with purpose.

WAKE UP WORLD. Stop making it about Black and White, and start taking responsibility for your actions. If you think you are a victim, then you will be. If you think you are oppressed because of slavery from 145 years ago, then you are a slave to your own ignorance. In today's world, the opportunities are limitless, and if you are in poverty, jobless, have 6 kids, on welfare, discriminated against, or WHATEVER, quit using your race or your family tree as an excuse...REGARDLESS OF YOUR COLOR.

White, Black, Arabian, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian, or Sasquatch...get educated, try to make your life better, and get off the pity party. As long as you take the issue back to racism, racism will still be here. It is entirely in our hands. We control whether it exists, so if you say you want it gone, then you have to take the first steps to eliminate it by teaching your children to love people for who they are on the inside. You have to accept that life is yours for the taking, and stop letting life's circumstances force you into "excuse mode".

Weather or not a person is black or white shouldn't matter how he/she gets treated, but until we decide to start treating people like people instead of colors, it WILL matter. The question then, is this...if we don't change our attitudes, what will change racism in our culture? If we don't stop making it about race, how will racism die?

Think about it.

To Believe or Not To Believe

I run into people all the time that say they believe in a God, but don't practice any specific organized religion. I ask them how that works, and they always look at me with confusion. "How what works?" they say. I ask them who this God they believe in is? What is he like? What is he capable of? What does he expect? What happens if you don't at least try to fulfill his expectations, much less actually fulfilling them? Does he get angry?

By the time we get to this part, they always say the same thing..."well, I'm not sure, but I guess I think that if you are a good person, and live a good life, you go to heaven. If you are a bad person, you go to hell". My next question is also always the same. "So you believe int he Bible then?". There is a conglomeration of responses to this question, depending on the person, but most people say, in no specific terms, that they do not believe in the Bible.

"How then do you know about Heaven and Hell?"...their frustration starts to rear it's head. "How do you know what living good or bad is...Isn't that just subjective to your own personal interpretation?"...they start to look around and avoiding eye contact. Most will stop the conversation there, but a few, those who really like the competitive nature in a battle of wits, will continue with certainty that they have it figured out.

The point is that if you say you believe in God, shouldn't you act like it? Without Jesus Christ, we would have no idea what God was like, or what he actually wants from us. Jesus showed us what that burning sensation to do good, to love, and to be kind that is in each and every one of us is all about. It is not enough to live a good life and hope that you did just enough to get into Heaven. If we take what  the Bible tells us about Heaven and Hell, we should take he whole Bible as the truth. We should consider that if we are not living for God, we are living for the Devil.

How do those people, who say they believe there is a God but don't believe in a religion, know God at all? They are living life with no idea of what it will take to get to the everlasting life of eternity. They are dooming themselves without even blinking an eye or lifting a finger. We do more to research the TV we will soon buy, than we research the chance to get to Heaven and avoid Hell. Those who say that living good is enough, are fooling themselves into beleiving that they can live selfishly there entire lives, and never do anything for God, but that HE will do for them.

So many people say, "well I prayed about it for months, but God never helped me".....what a joke. If you do nothing for God, how can you constantly expect him to do for you?

If you want to hold onto those material desires and selfish ways, then you better lower your expectations of God. If you say you believe in Him, you better learn to act like it. If Heaven and Hell are real, then isn't it worth some research into yourself, your heart, your mind, and your soul to figure out if you are doing all you can to get to Heaven, and not just enough to slip in?

One day, and I believe this day is on our doorstep if you look at the state of natural disasters that are occuring everyday, Jesus will come back to this place. The Heavens will open to the sounds of trumpets. Jesus and his saints will be visible to everyone, and we will all KNOW, not trust, not hope, not wish...but KNOW that he is the truth, and at that moment, how will you feel knowing that you lived for you, and it cost you eternity? How will you feel at that moment when souls all around you are raising to the sky in joy, and you are standing on the ground watching? Will you be happy about those drunken parties, those flirty moments with that coworker, all those times you could have chosen to forgive instead of holding that grudge? What will matter at that moment?

If you say you believe, then believe and act accordingly. If you say you believe, and continue to live for you, then you are willingly giving up your right to God's love, grace, and eternal life. Who said life will continue until you are old and gray and you will go to heaven because you didn't kill, steal, or whatever? Nobody...it is our own delusion. We try to convince ourselves that we have it all figured out, but we better be sure of the actual truth. Look around you. In the last 10 years there has been droughts, famines, floods, recessions, loss of crops on the country-wide level, blizzards, volcanic activity, wars, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, and much much more.

What if the world came to an end in three days? Where would your future lie?

The signs are very clear to anyone who is willing to open their eyes...


Sign that we are at the end of times

Satan is all around us

 Do yourself the favor of figuring out if you truly believe, and then ask yourself what that means. How important is God in your life, and how can you expect so much from Him and never give Him any glory, praise, worship, recognition, or validity in your life.

The time is nearer than we think, and at that moment when it comes to fruition, it will be too late to change your mind.

Just my $.02

Where Did Respect Go?

I can remember a day when people had respect for other people, and it wasn't that long ago. What happened to human beings just giving a darn about other human beings? When did our nation become so down right self-centered that we all feel like we are owed something?

The other day, I was at the grocery store and I couldn't help but to notice all the people in the parking lot, zooming around looking for a parking place and talking on their cell phones, not paying a bit of attention to the pedestrians walking around them.I watched as a little old lady, who couldn't have been less than 85 years old, wait at the crosswalk for a good 5 minutes, before the traffic lightened up enough for her to pass. I bet 15 cars passed by her and not one of them stopped to let her cross.

It was 95 degrees outside, and she was standing there in the blazing sun, hoping that someone would have the courtesy to stop and let her go into the store. She didn't flip anyone off, or rant and rave and the cars that were mere inches from running her over as they payed no attention to the crosswalk at all. She just waited patiently for her opening to come. What happened to the days when people gave a darn about the elders in our world? What is so hard about stopping your car, sitting for 20 seconds in the air conditioned convenience of the cushy front seat, while this little old lady made her way out of the heat? NOTHING...yet it seems that in today's world, people think the world revolves around them.

I had the pleasure of participating in the funeral of a long time family friend who passed away this week. I volunteered to be a Paul Bearer for the family. This very special lady was my neighbor growing up, and her family has always been like a second family to me so I was happy to help in any way I could. We attended the service, and then afterward, we got in our procession to head to the burial grounds. One car after another lined up with their hazard lights on as we followed the family car and the hearse across town.

I could not help but to notice how many people pulled over on the side of the road and stopped, showing their respects, as we passed by them. It was a short procession, so the wait for the oncoming traffic was as minimal as any funeral service I have ever been to. I also couldn't help but notice the overwhelming number of cars who didn't stop...didn't slow down, or pause at all. They just blasted right by all those who did stop as if they were angry for having to go around them. Not only did a huge number of on-comers not show respect for the death, but a ton of cars actually passed by our procession traveling the same direction, as we slowly went about our business. Are you kidding me? You pass a funeral procession as if they are holding you up? In my mind, your wife better be laying in the back seat with child about to bust, or there better be a major emergency for you to show that kind of disrespect for any family that has just lost a loved one.

As we inched our way through stop lights and intersections, I couldn't help but feel myself getting more angry at the thought of this kind of disrespect. I noticed in my rear view mirror that the outside lane of traffic was coming up beside us at a normal everyday pace, and so I did what anyone else should do in that same circumstance...I PULLED OVER INTO THEIR LANE AND MADE THEM SLOW DOWN AND RESPECT THE DEAD ! I hope those few cars that were planning to pass us got furious when I broke their speed down and locked them into a traffic jam behind us. I hope they had to sit there and pay attention to what was going on. More important, I hope they learned a lesson about respect, so next time, they will stay behind the procession and deal with the extra 10 minutes added to their useless lives.

I hope you all learn a lesson from my experience too. If you see someone trying to inch by a funeral, or if you are on the opposite side of the road and cars are honking at you because you stopped and they need to get by...pull your car sideways so they CANNOT pass, and make a statement for respect. Our country needs it, our youth needs to see it, and the dead and their families deserve it. If your mom, dad, sister, brother, or son or daughter had just left this God forsaken world, would that extra 5 minutes out of your day actually matter? Slow down and show some respect...if we don't respect others, who will respect us.