There can be no doubt that people of colour have been and still are treated very poorly to say the least, by other people who are not of colour. We the people need to put an end to the hateful, violent and horrific past and present of dysfunction based on race. We need an end game. We all need to work to end this racist pandemic.
Some have said that I have stated to end racism we need to stop talking about it. Let me be clear, not talking about the problem is not what I have ever professed or stated. In fact I do believe we must lose race as part of who we all are as people if we want a peaceful existence between all people.
To be even more clear, it is time to put an end to the isolation that race causes all of us. It is time to work like hell to arrive at a place in the lives of all people on the planet where we lose the race myth and begin to accept and believe we the people are one and only one race, the human race.
Yes, we look different, have different eye shapes, skin colour, etc, but when we truly take stock, we are all the same in the context of our needs and deeds. All people need to eat, all people have carried out good deeds and bad deeds, and some horrible deadly deeds.
We all want to be loved, recognized and respected. Of course shelter and clothing and warmth enter this picture as well. Moreover, we do not, that is all people of the human race do not, desire to be labelled, harmed, starved, violated, or even enjoyed due to our physical differences.
To arrive at the endgame I speak of, we all have to ignore the Race Salespersons from selling their race products. To be clear, my definition of what I call Race Salespersons are people who constantly put race first in their minds, speech, behaviour, who travel to cities, provinces and the country, to classrooms, and in daily interaction with others with race coming out of their mouths, writings and presentations to attempt to make themselves feel better or at least good about themselves. Most SPs offer no treatment for the racist pandemic.
Race Salespersons are motivated by grants and fees to pay their rent and other life’s needs and who use race as a commodity for earning and self promotion.
Coming out of the woodwork one month of the year to sell race is of limited value in the context of the big picture. I get it, talking about people of your same being can be cleansing and empowering but not a movement towards putting an end to this division of people.
Yes, many will respond that I am in favour of stopping our talk about what people of colour have added to this country that has been largely left out of the history books of our Canadian story. Not so, all of this needs to be told but with one proviso; we move on once the story is included fairly and openly. We must move to losing race forever. So the race narrative needs to stop. For example the presumption of behaviours of people based on their colour, before we get to know them, needs to stop.
The classification of people into different silos needs to stop. The clumping of all people who have one physical trait needs to stop. Speech like the first white women, first Indian man, first black man, needs to stop. Another example here is when a person of colour accomplishes something, many describe them when announcing their accomplishment as the first whatever. Or another one is The Black Vote. I hope I am clear here. The work many are doing to change the narrative and cause freedom for all is not what I am concerned about.
Perhaps MLK put it better but I have to add, let us stop judging one another totally. But if we have to, let it be based on content of character not race. What I am advocating for is a new direction, a new paradigm that will lead to Losing Race so we can all relate, treat each other well, and love one another as members of one human family.
