"I'm for truth, no matter who tells it. I'm for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I'm a human being first and foremost, and as such I'm for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole."- Malcolm X
As Malcolm said, this fight is about justice, truth, and humanity. Racism or white supremacy is really not that complicated to understand. Much of it is just uncomfortable truths made out to be complicated by racially fragile and defensive white folks. For example in reality: Nazi pride/heritage is equal to Confederate pride/heritage, in that they both were proudly about human holocaust.
The reality is racially white America has always been pointing their fingers at everyone but themselves. Constantly blaming the victims of white supremacy rather than acknowledging the truth. Never taking moral responsibility and a moral position for what our white supremacist culture and systems have done.
It's the grand old white American racial saga of never-ending deflection, projection, dismissal, defensiveness, denial, delusion and apathy. These propagandist mentalities are the tools that are used to hoard resources for white folks while creating a collective privileged insanity of social psychosis. Resulting in a highly dysfunctional unjust society and ultimately a self-destructive path for us all.
White supremacy is that big fat white elephant sitting on people of color that are screaming in pain amidst a room full of incredibly silent white folks.
Sometimes when in a public setting as a white guy I have had other whites folks whisper to me quietly when they are talking about blacks or other people of color. They whisper as if they don't want to offend anyone for mentioning non-whites, and my response is always the same. I will ask them, "why are you whispering, do you have something to be ashamed of?" They usually reply with the typical, "I'm not a racist, but..." comment.
My message is not about shaming or trying to guilt white folks. Instead, my message has always been about awakening white people from our long deep slumber of the racial greed, narcissism, fear, delusion and illiteracy that is perpetuating real life nightmares. Nightmares that not only affect people of color but the kind that jeopardize the hope of our species ever evolving at all.
White folks created white supremacy which is perhaps the greatest evil of our time, then out of greed and fear proceeded to openly support it by pretending it's not there. And it is exactly that profound neglect of us not addressing white supremacy as to why people of color are still being lynched and receiving social, psychological, economical and institutional injustice and inequality. As white folks we have to realize that we need to address this for our interest as well. The cost to all involved is enormous. We will never be a peaceful or functional society living out lies. Everything has a way of coming back full circle and realistically how much longer do you think our society can tolerate this great evil called white supremacy? Isn't it about time as white folks we stop being racially selfish and lazy and stand up and do something about it? Remember Ignorance is bliss until it bites you in the ass.
Today in 2015 we have blatant modern-day lynchings of black and brown folks being executed by our white biased/racist law enforcement. We have a white supremacist terrorist who killed nine innocent souls while black churches are still burning. Today we disproportionately lock up people of color in the world's largest mass incarceration complex while some white folks can be seen proudly waving their Confederate symbols of white supremacy all over our nation. In 2015, all of our American institutions are still operating under a structure and system of white supremacy. All this while we continue to be programmed by our highly whitewashed media and educational system.
So the question today in 2015 is, what is white America going to do about it? Continue to sweep white supremacy under the carpet? Continue to bury our head in the sand with our asses exposed?
If your answer is "no" to burying your head in the sand then here is a list of what white racial responsibility might look like.
The six steps to White Racial Responsibility (as I see them).
1. Acknowledgement/Acceptance of racial reality. To find the moral courage and truth by letting go of our greed and fear that keeps us irrationally clinging to the dominant position, privileges and benefits that white supremacy has given us. So that we may put behind us our years of cultural white supremacist conditioning, thoughts, and values by facing the very hard and uncomfortable truth racially about our self, our race, our culture and our country.
2. Change the distorted lens in the way we view people of color. To look at people of color outside of our insulated and self-serving white biases. To see them not as the white supremacist stereotypes we have been programmed to believe but instead as true and complete equals.
3. To listen, learn, and believe what people of color are saying about their life in America. They are our teachers racially.
4. To reach out to people of color through simple, sincere and genuine friendships that are free of white supremacist notions and biases.
5. To act on your new racially unbiased truth and reality, by speaking up/acting up, protesting, and providing accountability when you witness any other whites, officials, any establishments or institutions speaking, behaving, or performing in a white supremacist manner. Remember this is not anything casual. We are addressing this because it is life or death and should be treated as such.
6. To pass it on by telling, teaching, and sharing your new racially unbiased truth and reality, with all children (and start them early), with your white friends, family and co-workers, with everyone and every place. Work to decolonize the minds and hearts of all, especially our nation's institutions.
In the interest of number three from the steps above I would like to invite all white folks to please watch and listen to an unusually powerful and insightful breakdown of racial truth from social justice fighter, activist and performer Theo Wilson!
Thanks Theo for being my teacher. And remember white folks if you sit in silence, indifference, and inaction on issues of white supremacy not only are you supporting it, but you're actively a member of the greatest white supremacy military fighting to maintain it and protect it.