Today, persons are celebrating Halloween. I’m not one of them and I have heard arguments for and against it. That’s not the point of my writing. Whatever the purpose, I just don’t see the point. I can buy my son candy anytime and he doesn’t have to dress up for it.
Nevertheless, I thought that it would be a good time to address some truths about race that continue to haunt us (Insert ghost howling sound here.). Like Halloween, we are very much informed on race, its beginnings and social meanings; still, we continue to entertain it.
It really is scary to believe that we could know that race is a social construct and not a biological reality yet continue to behave towards one another as we do. While you are choosing which homes and businesses to target, I mean visit, take a moment to consider this list. You may not be able to read it later because you won’t be able to sit still after eating so much sugar. Trust me, you should read it now.
- Race is a lie and human beings made it up. Still, we use it to justify all forms of abuse and death, oppression and privilege.
- Race is matter of pride. By this, I do not mean racial pride but personal arrogance hidden under the cloak of this social construct. We simply think that we are better than others and race is used as a means to this belief.
- Race is a scapegoat. Race is not the real issue but our relationships. We have used race to avoid the real work of forming cross- cultural communities for hundreds of years. There is no excuse for letting our skin prevent us from getting close to each other.
- Race has a life span. It is kept alive by our mouths. It is not eternal. If we do not give voice to it, it cannot survive from generation to generation.
- Race is not a mystery. It is not some spooky ghost that invades our lives when we are born. We need only close the book and stop telling the story.
