Every time someone uses the word “white” or “black” to describe and address a person, it becomes embedded within the consciousness of society. People don’t find it strange to refer to someone by their skin colour because people have been doing it for centuries.
We hear people around us using the words “white”, “black”, “race” etc. So we believe it to be perfectly normal in society.
“Achievement has no colour.”
– Abraham Lincoln
However, if everyone suddenly started defining people by their eye colour it’d be deemed stupid and silly. Yet eye colour is just as valid as skin colour with regards to describing and defining a person (it’s a physical trait).
We as a society continue to insist on using these illusory words: white, black, race etc to somehow alleviate the problem.We’ve unintentionally brainwashed ourselves by the very words we’ve been using.
We are prisoners to our own vocabulary.
Every time you call someone by a label you are playing a part in the brainwashing process. Rich, poor, black, white, Christian, Jew, Muslim etc. All these labels and words have destroyed any hope of society truly uniting because the nature of these words divide us by highlighting only differences between us. If we recognized each person as a human before anything we would find it hard to judge them. At our nature we are all the same and equal.
Skin colour doesn’t need and shouldn’t be the defining feature of what makes a person who they are. When it comes to opportunities, race doesn’t play a part. Put your mind to what you want to do, and go do it. Racism becomes a good excuse for not getting there. You can represent and be proud of your heritage and your culture. But, it is what you do as an individual that defines you.
Racism is embedded deep within our institution because people insist on making it a big deal. People can only fight over skin colour when skin colour is perceived as being something we should fight over. All we have to do is care enough to change things and they will.
Image Source: Pexels/Bruce Mars
