Witnessing racism

I had lunch with my best friend yesterday who is African-American.

I witnessed a red-neck blow smoke on him on purpose. I was totally shocked and could not believe what I saw. Why all the hate? What is in people’s hearts today that someone would be so disrespectful to another human being? I am angry and sad to think this world is so polarised that people openly display their racism to others.

To expand our thoughts on the subject, maybe I can answer my own question.

Racism is a learned behavior. It is something we teach our kids and it gets passed on from generation to generation. Racism is something that not only covers skin color, but ethnic group. IE All Italians are in the mafia, All Hungarians steal, Jews have big noses and are good with money.

While a lot of people say they are not racist, in their hearts, they are. Why? Because we have been taught by the groups in which we associate to look upon other groups with disdain or blame.

I find myself doing it too from time to time. I will challenge anyone and say their hearts carry racist and prejudiced thoughts.

It’s a human problem. And yes, there are African-Americans that do it too.

To change, we need to challenge ourselves and our kids to follow the simple rule:

“To live in a world where people are not judged by the color of their skin, but the content of their character.”

An asshole is an asshole, no matter their race or creed.  Why are we now becoming a nation of them?

We need to get ourselves out of this polarized world we are creating. Us against them. Black and white. Right and wrong. Liberal and Conservative. Good vs. Evil.  Have computers been a prime reason for a move into our binary world?  You either hit the right button, or it does not work.

It’s this polarity that is infecting people’s hearts to do what that man did to my buddy yesterday. 

Paul is an Internet consultant and President of Professional Blog Service. Professional Blog Service works with companies trying to beat their competition online using business blogging, social media and search engine optimization to dominate their markets. My interests are in Entrepreneurial pursuits, soccer, music, and travel.

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