Closed Minds and Closed Hearts

People's judgement and biased against other races is something that hits me hard on a personal level. I can't seem to understand how anyone can look down on someone because of their color. So you guys may be wondering what made me all of a sudden post a blog about this. Well, today in English class my professor lectured on Thomas Jefferson and Equiano. The Thomas Jefferson piece regarded his political proposal on how to handle slaves, and Equiano is a slave's account of earning his way to freedom. Anyhow, this all led to my teacher saying a couple of things that intrigued me. First, she brought up the point that so many people in society are afraid to talk about other races and cultures openly. Secondly, she mentioned how people online speak their true hate through blogs and chats. She has a point.

Why do people have hatred against someone who has a different skin tone? I hear this stuff around me constantly, and frankly, I don't get it. As individuals, we have no clue what experiences and troubles another person has experienced, and until we have walked a mile in their shoes, who are we to say anything? I think our society especially in the South has promoted this hate. I know people who let derogatory terms fall off their tongue and not think twice about it. Do we ever think of what these words might mean to someone else though? How would we feel if other people called us bad names? No matter what you say, you would be offended. Even though I may be Caucasian, I hurt seeing people lay judgements on someone based on their appearance and not their character.

Sadly, the situation gets even worse when you throw interracial dating in the mix. This has been a problem for me personally. I don't believe that we should limit ourselves to one race when trying to find true love. God chooses our partners, and I fully believe that not everybody's partner is going to be the same race as them. Love doesn't know colors because colors are only skin deep. Many people don't have toleration for this, and I have faced it first hand. I hear things all the time. "Oh you like someone. Is he white? Oh thank God." That's just one example. When a certain family member found out about my African American "guy friend", I was yelled at and told "God was going to punish me" and "I was tearing my whole family apart." I know, however, that this hate will continue for me the rest of my life.

We all know people like this. Closed minds and closed hearts. People who aren't willing to be open to everyone regardless of color, religion, or anything else. I think we should all remember a famous lesson we can all gain from the Bible: "Do unto others as we would want to have done to us." God loves all his people period. No exceptions. I think we should all strive to be less judgemental and less close minded. Lets all open our hearts and minds and love to learn one another regardless.



"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." - Martin Luther King Jr.