This quote is striking:

“The Rev. Al Sharpton, however, told me: ‘I think it’s repugnant and the height of offense because in many ways it not only lessened the pain and dehumanization of slavery, it has a subtle suggestion of the worst kind of people who have said that the slaves were better off, that they were treated well, that they were well-fed and given good lodging… It’s like saying we were equivalent to animals on a plantation. What’s your point? The pigs and the horses — they also were well-fed and housed.’”

I hadn’t thought of that.

And further, it is in the best interest of a slave holder to “house and feed” their “stock.”

Is it ok if we stop pretending slave holders did this to be “nice” now?!?

Are we really this ignorant?

I’m so sick of the denial I could puke. And our public school system is NOT HELPING!

I am white. I am a racist. I will fight this disease inside me for the rest of my life. The reasons to fight are self-evident. Denying it isn’t going to fix it and it sure as fuck doesn’t change it.

As an individual, I see differences in people — skin is a feature of a human that I particularly love — I am not colorblind and I don’t want to be! But I know that I am part of a system that abuses people. I know oppression is a spectrum of indifference, stereo-typing and fear-mongering.

I understand the reality we are looking at and it makes me feel terrible inside that my lineage engaged in such horror. My line is French, German, Italian and Turkish / Lebanese. There is “let’s exploit and abuse others oppressive gene” in each culture in my background.

Nature makes me a hot-headed, well-organized, aggressive and unapologetic person. My parents consciously decided NOT to inject me with overt racism (thank god). My mom and dad loved all my friends and supported my decision to go to a school in the city — special school for the arts in high school — where I would be a minority in my class — 98% of the student body was black.

But I tell you what, when I compare the experiences between the school that had the opposite demographics, there in the safety of the suburbs, I was treated terribly, picked on, bullied and abused by students, teachers and administrators alike.

I am sure this was an effort to beat the “different” out of me.

It was just the opposite in my “black school.” There I was cherished, valued and respected. Treated like I mattered by all the students, teachers and administrators.

What I’m getting at here is that I see a clear difference between how POC and white people treat “difference.” One group punishes it or tries to ignore it, while the other embraces it.

This is just yet one more example of the “black and white” thinking that plagues the mind of non-creative, white-superior thinkers — whilst they ACCUSE EVERYONE AROUND THEM OF BEING THE PROBLEM.

The race to the middle, to “sameness” and bore. I want nothing to do with it! If I had listened to the “education” I was given at those schools (they still do standard tests in civics, so even the black school had to teach what the state required) and NOT had the above experience — I am not sure I’d be able to see my own biases.

I’m pretty sure, I would be among the voices who over-simplify, deflect and ignore the very truths we must admit to promote progress. I thank god every day for those experiences.

The first step to addressing any problem is to admit we have one. Deborah Foster, thank you for being a force for that step. More of us are taking it.

What is sad is there are still so many who cannot find the staircase.

-Cyborg