Racism: A Ridiculous Waste

One of the most preposterous issues we humans deal with is racism. Talk about pointless! There are two aspects to racism: color and language...

Exclusivity or exclusion based on color is about the most ridiculous thing ever. Color is all about skin. And, why does it matter what is the color of one's skin? The bottom line is -- we are all shades of brown. So, in truth, we are all brown. Peel back the layer of our bodies called "skin", and we are all red. Just below the surface, we are all pink. The truth is, our skin is what makes us individual. If we weren't different shades of brown on the outside, our world would be so boring. I can't stand one skin color group referring to itself or being referred to as "of color". We are all "of color". There are no "colorless" people out there. What separates us should instead bring us together...what divides should unite. I love the tag line for Benetton clothing -- "The United Colors of Benetton"... We should all be referred to as the united colors of the world -- different shades of brown, united in our humanity.

The other aspect of racism is language, which includes ethnicity. Again, why should this difference divide us? Different languages, different ethnicities add interest to life. Sure, it can be difficult to communicate when two people speak two different languages, but not impossible. The fact is, there is more that unites us as humans than divides us, and that is where the focus should be. It disturbs me when someone of one ethnicity acts as though they are better than one of another ethnicity or one of mixed ethnicity. It absolutely shouldn't and doesn't matter.

In the end, our differences make us individual, interesting, complex, but they should never make us feel or act better or worse than anyone else. We are all members of the human race. We owe each other the same respect we desire for ourselves.


c2009 Lorenda Houston