The heart of Racism

     Here's another subject that I was going to skirt but against better judgement I will add my two cents worth.  I will tell you that I've never understood racism.  I've experienced quite a bit of it but I've never understood it.  I grew up in Reno, Nevada which is over 60% Caucasian.  Some recent stats showed the population for Reno at a little over two hundred thousand with nearly six thousand of those being Black.  I know when I was in high school, there were about twenty Blacks out of two thousand students in the entire student body.  I could tell you some horror stories about my coming of age but I'm not writing this to relive that negativity.  Instead I wanted to shed some light on my background and how I view people in general.

     My parents didn't raise me to see the differences of color in people.  My parents were born in the late 1940's and grew up in Mississippi at a time when the United States was segregated but moving toward equality for all people.  I've studied history and I've seen the images in books and on television of how the United States use to be.  I don't think I would've done very well during slavery times, not that the people that were going through that were doing well.  I just don't think I have the fortitude to have survived during that period.  I would have loved to have seen Martin Luther King Jr. during his heyday, but I don't think I would have done well in that time period either.  I have a natural aversion to hate and violence.

     This is where I lack understanding.  I don't understand how people can hate.  Yes, I do hate too.  I hate ignorance.  I really do.  I don't hate people who are ignorant, I hate their ignorance.  I'm ignorant in some areas myself and I hate that too, but I've never hated a person for their color, or their beliefs or anything else for that fact.  I believe that is a true signature of a Christian.  Christ commands love.  If there is true love in your heart there won't be room for hate.  Take time to know people.  Quit being judgmental.  If you're the kind of person that harbors hate and resentment towards others, you need to realize that ultimately you are hurting yourself the most.  It is you who is suffering from your own will.  Think about why you would intentionally want to hurt yourself.  I believe you will have a revelation by looking into yourself.  Let go of hate, it is not only destructive toward others but it will also destroy you!