Dr. Martin Luther King must be rolling in his grave. True racial justice and equality can never happen. It will never happen because there will always be white people who believe that any other race but white, are beneath them. I do not feel this way.
Similarly, it will never happen because there will always be Native Americans who harbor bitterness towards white people for encroaching on their land. It is true, “we” did. I didn’t, it was my ancestors, 600 years ago.
It will never happen because there will always be black people who harbor bitterness towards white people for the injustices, persecutions, and hatred that were inflicted on their forefathers by my forefathers. It is true, it happened, but not at MY hands. To a degree, it still happens today, but not at MY hands.
Personally, I am fed up with all of the racist talk that I’ve been reading all over the internet. I have read many of the comments on several of the many news articles about what happened in Ferguson, Mo.
I actually saw several comments blatantly saying that “all white people are racist bigoted pigs and should be exterminated.”
Seriously. Why should I, as a white man, be held accountable and responsible for retribution for horrible acts committed by my ancestors several generations ago?
Yet in the same breath, those same people will talk about how we are all equal and should all strive for peace???
Many black people (NOT all) will quote Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, while hanging onto the bitterness and hatred toward the white people for those heinous acts, as if every white person who has ever walked the earth is or has been a slave owner, and will show favoritism towards a black person for a job, an award, or just in everyday life.
Is this the equality and justice that Dr. King’s Dream was? I don’t believe so.
“But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.”Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
I Have A Dream, August 28, 1963
A good friend of mine happens to have the same name as the man who led the Confederate Army in the Civil War, Robert E. Lee.
Rob happens to be white, and has been judged by some people, based solely on his name, without even speaking to him, or knowing one other thing about him.
Is this right? No, it is not. Rob is a good man, and a great friend. He is honest, hard-working, a good father and husband. He has no pre-judgement towards anyone regardless or race, creed, color, or religion. However, he has been discriminated against based on his name alone. He did not choose his name, it was given to him by his parents.
Neither Rob, myself, or any other white person chose to be born white, any more than any other person chose to be born the race they were.
Should a person be judged based solely on the color of their skin, by their gender, by their name, or by their religion? Of course not.
If you are reading this, and happen to be black, you may be thinking something that has been said to me before:
“Well, you’re not black, so you cannot understand what my people have gone through.”
True enough, I’m not, therefore I cannot. However, consider what a white person such as myself has on his mind. I am afraid. Not for myself, but for my friends and family. For example, afraid that my daughter may walk down the street, and encounter a person of color who feels that all white people “need to be exterminated”. So they gang up on her, rape, torture and kill her in order to further the cause for their hatred, in an attempt to recoup some of the retribution they feel they deserve.
Suppose I were to travel to Ferguson, Mo, and offer myself up as a martyr, a retributional sacrifice? If I walked out on the streets of that town, and stood in the middle of the street, and yelled “I am here because of the transgressions of my forefathers and offer my life to atone for their wrongdoings against your race.” What do you suppose would happen? I would be willing to bet that there would be a significant chance that someone would act upon that. There would also be a good chance that some good person of color would approach me and tell me not to do that, that it’s not necessary and would not change things.
I’m just saying that there are enough people who would do it.
Would either of these make things right? No, it would not. Would this change the implied fact that our grandfather of many generations ago, had slaves? No, it would not. Would it change the implied fact that our grandfather of many generations ago, beat and killed a black woman? No, it would not. Neither my daughter or myself has done anything wrong towards ANY race, has committed NO moral wrong on a racial basis, so why should WE personally be made to pay?
If you happen to think along these lines and disagree with me, consider this: If my mother was raped, tortured and killed by a black man, would it make it right for me to say and believe that every black person is evil and should be wiped out of existence? Absolutely not, that would be completely unreasonable.
There are good people and bad people of every race and color. A man’s worth is not determined by the color of his skin, but by his character.
This month, 51 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King set a bar for justice and equality in our great nation. This bar has not yet been met. We, as a nation, have come close, but have failed and will continue to fail, as long as there are those who continue to harbor bitterness towards others because of the color of their skin.
To close, I will again quote Dr. King, because I believe it bears repeating again and again, ad infinitum, ad nauseam, and it should be heeded not only by black people, or white, or any specific race, but by EVERY race, EVERY creed, EVERY color:
“In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.”
My thoughts on whatever 