In my previous post I suggested I would, in this post, explain why most people still assume Native American cultures were “primitive” compared to their European counterparts. I HATE it when I do things like this! Racism is such a hot-button issue–only a complete idiot would willingly lick a finger and stick it in that light socket, right?
And there it is–my simple explanation of racism. In my opinion, people are racists because–like me–they’re complete idiots.
Now don’t get all huffy. I’m not talking about you. I’m just paraphrasing Thoreau, who said he never met a man who was fully awake. Well, I’ve never met a human who hasn’t occasionally failed to zip up his pants, and I’ve known a few humans who occasionally fail to put on any pants at all!
Given this sorry state of affairs, the real question is not why so many humans are racists, but why in the world we expect them not to be. Most humans have only the vaguest notion about who they are, where they are, and what the hell they’re doing there. Come on, admit it–as a species, we’re just not that bright. We think we know everything, then find out again and again what idiots we are. We’re not the center of the universe, the earth isn’t flat, all men aren’t created equal, and no race is clearly more “primitive” than any other–pants or no pants.
On the other hand, I think humans deserve a lot of credit just for coming up with the concept of racism. You don’t see dogs or dandelions worrying about whether they’re being fair to all members of their species. Only humans seem to be capable of understanding just what complete idiots we are, which is, of course, our saving grace.
Awareness is the key to change. The minute we realize how stupid we are, we are instantly smarter, and the minute we conceived of the concept of racism, we were well on our way to eradicating it. Until we do, I say let’s try having a little more compassion, both for each other and for ourselves. Maybe I shouldn’t hate myself for doing stupid things like sticking my wet finger in hot light sockets. And maybe I should give other people a break when they say & do stupid things because, let’s face it–life is hard, most of us are asleep at the wheel, and we’re all just trying to keep our pants on.
Next time: Who We Could Be
Leave a Reply