Religion & Spirituality
Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt said it best in her excerpt "The Minorities Question" in 1946 - '“Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself,” has often been before me when I have heard people generalize about groups of their neighbors who, like them, are citizens of the United States....'.It had not occurred to me before that I might have been totally insensitive by not breaking them down by nationality, those responsible for the years and years of deprivation of which black people have suffered in the United States of America. Is it safe to say that they all look alike, the same way we as black people get totally pissed off as it pertains to the thought that we all look alike? The same way white people don't all look alike, their not all responsible for racism, slavery, bigotry and those things; the same way it may bother them to be grouped with the lousy set who began it and continue the spread of white supremacists ideologies. This is the same way we, black people don't all break the law, we're not all dangerous or violent, we're not all unintelligent, we're not all lazy, we're not all athletically, artistically inclined; and distinctively, we are not at all, any of these particular things at a higher rate than white people.I am hoping that white people will one day understand the pain that is caused every time black people are overwhelmingly categorized because of a particular reason; whether that would be levels in melanin that we carry, style of dress, style of lingo or vernacular, gender/sex, where we live or grew up, or anything like that. So, while it always occurred to me the discrimination and abuse that black people generally faced, and continue to face due to the history of racism, to now modern day generalizing and stereotypes; for a second, it slipped my mind that all races/groups endure the same thing to some degree. Asians, Middle Easterners; people of different religions, it happens to all. John 7:24 instructs us to stop judging by outward appearances, and start judging justly.Stereotyping is extending statistical probability to certainty.Stereotypes pass judgment; leave little or no room for exceptions; create categories that often dominate all other features of a person, not allowing for other characteristics to be seen and appreciated; stereotypes do not tend to change, even when proven wrong, supporting the idea that it is not backed by empirical/factual evidence after all; stereotypes are not formed by said factual evidence to begin with. It is a tall tale that stereotypes help folks to understand their differences. Stereotypes cause way more harm to the human population than good. For the simple fact that we all carry differences both individually and among groups, stereotyping those differences actually only puts a negative filter onto things.Nobody likes it; no one likes to be put into a box. Clearly not white people, and definitely not us. It is the perpetuation of doing these things, whether it's to each other (whites to blacks, blacks to whites, towards other groups) or the self-affliction of it that causes us to remain in bondage - physically and mentally.How we got here, it will be tough to get over. But the first step to deliverance is admission, friends; and that does mean white people too. And even if you weren't the ones responsible, white people have a responsibility in this too, still, start calling out some of your cousins! We have to stop being fake, stop pretending that these things don't exist. Like we are not capable of 1) transmitting the problem and/or 2) acting like, the problem doesn't apply to us. Because it applies to all of us, at some point or another. Romans 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thank you for listening - Follow me, Sade Graham on Instagram & Twitter or look me up on Facebook.Artwork design & logo by Dana Givens. Website: https://www.danagivens.com/ Social: www.instagram.com/danagivens/ Original music produced by professional musical production company, SweatBeatz. Website: http://www.sweatbeatz.com/ Social: www.instagram.com/ricspice/ & www.instagram.com/diasekou/----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sources:https://www.facinghistory.org/basic-thing-we-must-do-stop-generalizing-about-peoplehttps://emorywheel.com/generalizations-v-stereotypes/https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1334&context=diss----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------R.I.P. to George Floyd who died on Memorial Day - Monday (May 25, 2020) at the hands of Minneapolis police officers who had him pinned to the ground with a knee to the back of his neck, where before dying due to this act, caused him to plead that he could not breath.