Taboo Busting – Racism, Bias, & Oppression
May I ask you a question?
Have you ever seen someone or found some fact about a person and thought to yourself, “Oh, thank God I’m not him (her)?†For example, you see a quadriplegic in a wheelchair or hear that someone’s been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer.
That feeling of thankfulness is real and indicative of a fundamental truth – but for the grace of God or other source of providence, your roles could be reversed. We, each of us, ended up where we are and who we are by chance. The truth is that you could be me at this moment and I, you. The truth is that both you and I could have been born 300 years ago rather than living here today. I could go on with examples, but you get the point.
Why is that important? Because we as individuals tend to think of ourselves as different from others – often embracing “a me versus them†attitude. We might be tempted to, or even act on, an internal belief that we are better than someone else for whatever reason – appearance, education, financial wealth, genetics, etc.
Let’s focus on appearance for the moment. Most of us tend to trust people that look like we do and, of course, tend to mistrust people that don’t look the same. There’s a reasonable explanation for this tendency. Our family cares for us as we are raised. The family is the source of food, shelter, love, protection, and myriad other benefits. And what’s true about the members of our family? They look very similar to ourselves because, obviously, their genetics are almost the same as ours.
This trust for “family†is natural and appropriate for childhood. However, as we transition into adulthood, we are thrust into a new reality – the global reality. We tend to be around our families much, much less and the offspring of other families much, much more. This greater exposure to the world at large is a necessary outcome of our individual specialization – we grow strong in specific capabilities and depend upon society around us to provide where we are weak. For example, a women trains to be a doctor and then uses wages earned from her work to purchase food, shelter, and other essentials.
Another truth is that, at any given moment, any one of us can be thrust into a situation where we’re alone among others that aren’t family members. It is at these moments that the larger group can look upon the individual as inferior and, unfortunately, adopt a belligerent or oppressive attitude because the numbers allow this status when there are the many compared to the one.
Here’s the important point! In these situations, we’ve all got to fight any internal tendency to oppress another person. Why? Because tomorrow or even moments in the future, the situation could be reversed and the person being oppressed this second might join a group of oppressors of someone else the next.
Remember, you are who you are and you are where you are at the moment by act of God or other providence. Oppressor or Oppressed. It’s literally a coin flip for each of us at any given moment. In a global world where we truly depend on each other to deliver on each others’ specialties, we need each other – regardless of color of skin or religious preference or financial status or place of employment or…or…or…
We must never oppress anyone at any time. We cannot tolerate actions of others that seek to oppress. We cannot stand by while acts of oppression are carried out nearby or anywhere around the globe.
We need to get beyond the taboo regarding open discussion of racism, bias, and oppression. We must be open to discussing racism and its contribution to oppression anywhere and at any time. We have to be self-aware and self-correcting, constantly asking ourselves, “If this person where literally me, would I be treating them any different right now?†In an ideal future, the answer will always be “no.†Historically, unfortunately, the answer has very often been “yesâ€.
We cannot correct the past. We absolutely can, however, embrace the horrors of the truth about the past. We can embrace, feel and sincerely acknowledge the pain that’s been visited upon others, past and present. We must openly acknowledge our weakness, beg forgiveness for it, and act openly to demonstrate that we are conscientiously changing our behavior for the good of ourselves, as individuals and as members of the human race.
