Stop Being Racist, Please.

If you're reading this right now it's probably because someone you know saw you were being racist but didn't have any energy left to tell you to stop. So, I'm doing it for them. The black community is tired. Super tired. It's almost like they've been fighting racism for a few centuries or more...oh wait, they have been. Welcome to America. Now before you stop reading let me tell you this, if you stop now you're going to lose someone you love. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. Maybe no one has sent you this letter, maybe you just stumbled upon it, but racism isn't a good look so do yourself a favor and read this all the way till the end. Every word. Don't skim it. Don't skip a paragraph because you're getting bored. Read it. If someone sent you this they did it for a reason.

Now before we get into the details of racism let's take a step back and return to Sociology 101. Humans like to live in these things called groups. Groups of humans don't like humans that don't fit into their group guidelines. Those humans that "don't fit" are labeled outcasts and thrown out. Need some examples? People with mental health issues, the physically disabled, differing sexualities, differing religions, or wait, you guessed it, different colored skin. Humans don't like other humans. It's kind of a stupid thing we've developed over the years. We start telling them lies about themselves. America has been doing this especially. Even when America was first discovered, what did humans do? They kicked the Native Americans out. So, please stop pretending like racism hasn't existed in this country since the founding days.

Need more proof? Well, way back when America was just a baby people decided to take other people and that calling them "slaves" was a good idea. And guess what? People are still doing that. The words might've changed and maybe the methods but that idea is still a large part of American society. The idea that "black people aren't as good as the rest of us." It doesn't stop with Black Americans. We also believe that "women aren't as good as men" or that "gay people are gross." America, as a country, has a lot of problems to work with so stop seeing the ones that suit you and start seeing the entire picture.

So, maybe you've found a way not to agree with that for a second. Maybe you think that "slavery is just a thing of the past" and that "racism can't exist in 2020." How incredibly wrong you are. Just look at our school system. Children start learning about racism, slavery, segregation, from the moment they enter grade school all the way up until high school. U.S. History is a mandatory class in most high schools complete with a section on slavery because, guess what, that happened. But, sure, that happened, and we do need to learn about it, but do we really need to learn about it from when children are children to the day they're teenagers? Why aren't we teaching black culture? Why do we skip all of the good parts of black history and go straight to slavery and stay there? This festering concept stays in the minds of those kids their entire lives and they can't look away from it for a moment. Black people are forced to stare at their dying ancestors day in and day out while white people bask in the privilege of knowing they didn't have to deal with being a slave.

It's not just our school system. Social norms play a factor too. Because we have these things called stereotypes that lead to people having prejudices. When you think of a black person what is the first thing that comes to mind? I'll tell you. You're thinking of someone dangerously criminal who's father walked out and was left to be raised by the mother alone. You're thinking about a drug dealer and an addict that is going to mug you. You're not thinking about a future doctor. You're not thinking about the future president. You're thinking a collection of negative things that society has taught you to think and you're spreading that image to everyone around you. And them to the people they know. Until eventually everyone thinks black people are evil. And this all started because way back when society lied to black people and told them they were beneath everyone else. And the movies and the media only enforce that idea by spending considerable time talking about the crimes black people supposedly committed.

And that's wrong.

And that's racism.

And it's gotten to the point where a large population of black people are in prison for crimes they didn't commit because judges and everyone else has this subconscious idea ingrained in their minds that "black people are evil." It starts from grade school and continues into the "real world." Because America can't seem to get over itself and love people equally. A white person and a black person can commit the same crime but what happens then? The white person is let off on bail and the black person is stuck in prison for the rest of their life. 

And it's gotten to the point where black people die because a cop's first instinct is to pull out a gun because everyone has this subconscious idea ingrained in their minds that a black person is going to attack them. Because white people are afraid of black people. White people are afraid that a black person is going to call them out and attack them because many years ago white people thought they were better than black people. It's going to get to that point if you don't do anything. How long do you think people can stand to be beaten down? Before standing up and fighting back? That's what's happening right now. That's why people are protesting. To stop this social stigma and to fix things.

Black people are dying. Black people are tired of fighting. Black people aren't the problem, the problem is people like you who think you're somehow better than another human being because the color of your skin is a different shade. The problem is people like you that instead of looking inward for the problem to solve you look to other people and use them as scapegoats.

Don't tell them you're here now. Don't tell them you support them and do nothing else. Don't sit there and text all your black friends that "you hear them" because that's exhausting. They don't need you to hear them they need you to get off of your butt and do something. They need you to help them and support them with actions and words. Don't tell them that you're there, show them that you are. Speak out against racism. Sign petitions. Go to protests. Support black people because it's been a long fight and America needs to change.

"But violence isn't the answer." So don't be violent. But don't get mad because it's happening. America has been bullying black people since its baby days and now they're standing up and fighting back. It's that simple. No one is telling you to go out and start looting. No one is telling you that you have to violently protest. You just have to do something, anything, because that's better than doing nothing. That's better than sitting at home watching Netflix without a care in the world while America crashes and burns from the inside out.

"But all lives matter." No one is saying that they don't. But until we stop this blatant racism in our country don't you dare utter the phrase. This isn't about all lives. This is about the lives crying out for help because of injustice. This is about the lives that need us. This is about the lives that can't go outside without putting on a mask, scared for their lives because a cop might mistake them for being a criminal or someone might talk down to them because their skin is dark. Black people are people just like anyone else. There are good and bad black people, that's called being human. But just because bad black people might exist doesn't mean you get to ostracize the entire population. It doesn't mean you can make them the scapegoat and place all of the blame on them. Ignoring them by saying "all lives matter" is the same as putting a bandaid on a person who isn't even bleeding instead of using that bandaid for the person who is. 

"I don't see why this is happening all because of one guy dying." This isn't happening because of "one guy dying" this is happening because so many black people have died. So many injustices have been committed. So many false statements have been made against black people. So many movies. So much media. It's a corrupt social norm not to talk about the issue and to pretend it doesn't exist. Stop your denial and face the facts. 

Now that I've done my very best to try and explain this to you, what are you going to do about it?

Are you going to continue to deny, ignore, and pretend everything is fine? Or are you going to take a stand against racism?

If you've made it this far, I'm proud of you. But if your mind hasn't changed and you still refuse to acknowledge anything I've just said...shame on you. Black Lives Matter. They always have mattered and they always will matter. We just have to change our system and the people we know into believing that too. Please...Stop. Being. Racist.