Common Sense with Wayne
Ok, so let’s start with something that is always on my mind. Racism.
A little background for those that don’t know me. I am white middle aged southern man and I am married to the most beautiful woman I ever met, and she happens to be black. Our daughter is the most beautiful girl ever… and I know you think all parents say that.. but biased or not.. she is. Mixed and beautiful. So when it comes to racism… I have the perspective of a very long relationship with a open minded and intelligent black woman who has opened my eyes to the realities of race in the country.
Now that I have said that.. this blog is all about the fact that I am no expert on anything, these are the opinions of a normal everyday Joe.. errr.. Wayne.
Racism is alive and well in the world. Not just the U.S. of A., but all across the globe. But for the sake of this blog, I am talking about my experiences in America. I am a southern man. Born in North Carolina. I love Cheerwine ( If you don’t know Cheerwine you just haven’t lived yet ), the Carolina Tar Heels, ( Stay with me Duke lovers, this isn’t the time to fight ), and the lovely mountains that I lived in most of my life. Now I live in Philadelphia and I am married to a South American immigrant that came to the country when she was 12 and lived in Brooklyn, NY. I’ve traveled and lived in California and Texas. So I’ve pretty varied idea of race around the nation. Everywhere had racist. Yes, even the progressive California.
The north and the south have racism in different ways. I’ve talked to other southern black people who live in Philly now and they agree with me. In the south, it is in your face. The rebel flag, possible rallies, just blatant and out there. What stands out to me is a joke that Roy Wood Jr. said in a comedy routine. That rebel flag saved his life many times.. telling him where not to stop in the middle of the night to get gas. But the truth is, as blatant as it is, there is also a knowledge that even though a person might be racist, they still take care of each other in an emergency. They do respect community and the knowledge that they still co-exist.
Now I am not condoning racism or racists. I am saying that racism exists in different forms depending on where you live. In the north it is underground. From laws that push black people into poorer communities, over policing of those areas, and poorer educational possibilities for those in those communities, the north has a system of racial discrimination. This happens a little less frequently in the south due to desegregation as part of the civil rights movement that never took place in the north.
Often, as a white person, I feel like I am missing information or not able to speak up about racism because I lack the true black experience. But I am starting to see that it is a mistake. Black people need to have their white friends, those white allies, to speak up, to stand with them. And if you aren’t an informed white ally, then white people need to feel empowered to sit down and have serious real talks with the black community. We need to listen to what they say, and take ownership of educating ourselves to the truth of the racial divide. And as a people, a nation, we have to accept that with this topic comes a lot of raw emotion. Black people are angry at years of systemic racism. White people are often angry at being made to feel guilty about things that were done in the past or that they feel they have no control over. We need to stop directing our anger at “Black people” or “White people” and instead look at the individual in front of us. A friend of mine made an observation that I like.. he said that eighty percent of people are good and twenty percent are bad. This is in all categories. Black, White, Asian, Hispanic.. doesn’t matter. The majority of us are good. We are hard working, decent people, wanting to help each other, wanting equality, wanting the world to stop burning down around us thanks to the twenty percent of us that are over the top screamers.
So if the majority of us are good.. why does it all still exist? Because as a society we have been taught that raising a fuss makes you a trouble maker. That we should focus on our own lives and keep our heads down. That the government or officials will handle things and that it is out of our hands. All these things are a lie. Nothing ever changes by being quiet. Women vote because of Suffrage. Black people gained rights from the Civil Rights Movement. Hell, this country exists cause we stood up and fought for independence in the revolutionary war.
So. Is there a quick solution? No. God I wish there was. But no, there isn’t. It took hundreds of years to get here, and it will take time to get out of it. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t start trying. We must accept the reality of the past and accept that racism is still here. We have to learn to communicate with each other in valuable and informative conversations that pass understanding instead of hate. Most of all, we need to rise up together against the system that still oppresses so many of our fellow Americans.
So in the words of Mr. Magorium… “Life is an occasion, rise to it.”
