Hatred is not new. It is a time-honored emotional tradition–stirred by frustration and lack of hope–usually directed at those who are vulnerable and unable to defend themselves against the angst of hatred by others who feel threatened by them–the under-educated and ill-informed.
Whenever there are people who feel they are superior to others and those others are inferior–hateful attitudes reign over common sense and love. This phenomena is seen clearly in a review of this country’s history.
This continent–particularly what we call America–was inhabited long before colonists came to the land by the Natives–and since they did not know what they were called (only the labels we gave them) the colonists declared them hostile and barbarian. The colonists lied to them, cheated them out of their land, massacred their people and then put them on reservations–claiming the land for themselves. But that wasn’t enough.
Then, since there was so much work to be done in the new land, the colonists had the bright idea of obtaining free labor and went across the oceans–deceived and lied to the chieftains on the continent of Africa, getting them to help capture naive natives to that land, chained them and forcefully brought them to these shores. These African natives–treated more like animals than human beings were considered barbaric and uncivilized and of course, the only ones who could civilize them were those with white skin. They were forced to abandon their true identity to accept one forced upon them by their captives. They built America and helped to make it a strong nation–and many had the scars (physically) upon their backs to prove how those who didn’t understand them–treated them. And then they were regarded by the less fortunate white people (the under-educated and ill-informed) as threats to their livelihood–hated, lynched, burned alive and their women raped–simply because they had no voice in a lawless land. Their descendants were left with the stories of horror and mental scarring of what hatred does. But that wasn’t enough.
Though there were some who eventually saw the wrong perpetuated upon a people who did not come to this land willingly and tried to right the wrongs–they did little to stop the rampant acts of hatred–continued killing and destruction of whole towns (Rosewood, Florida and in Oklahoma and others) and families–anger and hatred stirred more because those who did not have the privilege of money and status were angry about those of color who achieved it.They hated seeing people of color live in houses rather than hovels, wearing decent clothes rather than rags, and driving cars rather than walking. They hated little black boys (Emmett Till) and men looking at white women so those black boys were taught to walk looking down instead of up and when they dared to bump into a white person, they were beaten or lynched. Jealousy, anger and hatred are emotions that keep killing and no one wins. Since black folks were not considered part of the human race–worthy of having access to the basic amenities–including recourse in a justice system–there was no justice, no trial by peers, and no one listened to a black woman proclaiming rape by a white man, but look around us–some of us are living proof of the rape our ancestors suffered.
And after all that time, over 240 years later since we became a country recognized by the world, we still see the anger and hatred by the masses of those who are under-educated and ill-informed target people of color with just as much hatred as it was in the beginning. When will it stop?
The hatred won’t stop until we all realize that we are one race–not many races–who were born with different skin colors–but still belong to the human race. And until we start treating one another like human beings and stop thinking anyone is superior to another, we will continue to see the violence and hatred perpetuated towards people–primarily by the under-educated and ill-informed because they refuse to accept the fact that long before people of color started to rise and achieve–they had access to everything we were once denied. They hate for no reason other than their own inability to accept responsibility for themselves.
This has to stop! Wake up, America! We’ll never be great or achieve the greatness some think we have lost until we learn to live and love unconditionally–accepting one another for who we are and not who we want people to be.
A mantra for living in peace and harmony should not just be–Black Lives Matter, White Lives Matter, Brown Lives Matter, Native Lives Matter, Police Lives Matter, but All Lives Matter!
If we think we can achieve greatness without remembering our history, we only fool ourselves for we cannot move forward until we know–where we were. And going backwards–is simply not an option! If we refuse to know and remember our history, we are bound to make the same mistakes and end up going in circles–never ending the cycle of hate, and replacing it with love.
I will keep this conversation going until someone–many someones–make public proclamations that the hatred must stop and we must learn to love–unconditionally!
maryhallrayford 