Racism Is a Pandemic

We are seven months into the year 2020, and it wouldn’t be inaccurate to say that we are living amidst two pandemics. One is viral and whose spread has devastated most countries, whereas the other is far more human and has been infecting us for a lot longer. Racism is a more personal disease. It’s about time we consciously try and make an effort to eradicate it.

By now, we have all heard of George Floyd, the 46-year-old man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly 9 minutes. Even amidst his subdued words, “I can’t breathe”; the officers showed no mercy — This wasn’t the first act of police brutality to be recorded, yet it was this horrific act of undeserved violence that sparked the most recent outrage. The uproar that resulted, prompted thousands of individuals from around the world to take a stand against racism.

Of all the distinguished people who have dared to be outspoken about this subject in the past, One man, in particular, stands out to me. A well renowned, intelligent actor with a voice you’d want your life to be narrated by. That man is none other than Morgan Freeman.

In 2005, Mr. Freeman was interviewed by Mike Wallace for a segment on 60 minutes, where Freeman stated that black history month was ridiculous, because his history cannot be relegated to a single month. This conversation was an immediate eye opener. I believe it is still very relevant today. The next part of the conversation went something like this:

Freeman: which month is white history month?

Mike: Well… I’m Jewish

Freeman: Okay. which month is Jewish history month?

Mike: There isn’t one.

Freeman: Oh..oh, why not? Do you want one?

Mike: No, no.

Freeman: I don’t either. I don’t want a black history month. Black history is American history.

Mike: well, then…how are we going to get rid of racism?

Freeman: Stop talking about it!

* * *

I am going to stop calling you a white man and I’m going to ask you to stop calling me a black man

– Morgan Freeman

* * *

It couldn’t get any clearer or simpler than that. We label people effortlessly by their color when we refer to them, and by doing so we are creating a separation between races. I truly believe that it needs to stop to even take a step towards eliminating racism.

* * *

You’re scrolling through your news feed and you stumble upon a news article that reads —“White cop shoots black man”
Imagine if the headline instead read, “Corrupt cop murders innocent man”.
The impact the two headlines would have had would be miles apart. Sure, the second one would not garner as much attention, but its still a step in the right direction. By using labels such as ‘white’ or ‘black’ we are magnifying the hate amongst people towards specific races. A minor change in attitude and speech can go a long way. Racism is not a problem that will cease to exist overnight. We need to mindfully take individual actions through our attitudes to change our perceptions and thereby changing the society’s perception, through our interactions. There will always be racist people, but we shouldn’t give them power by showing that something as insignificant as color divides us.

Quoting Mr. Freeman on another interview with CNN’s Don Lemon. Don states that he is tired of having to talk about race so often, to which Freeman replies:

* * *

If you talk about it, it exists. It’s not like it exists if you refuse to talk about it.

* * *

Freeman wasn’t merely saying we should stop talking about it, rather, that we should stop sensationalizing it and making it a bigger problem than it already is. We need to stop giving ignorance attention and stop giving confidence to people preaching hate. Ultimately the damaging aspects of racism are not what people say but how it affects one’s livelihood or safety.

* * *

The events that succeeded since George Floyd’s death, started with protesting. Seemingly harmless but then later led to riots that caused a great deal of political and social turmoil in the US. There were multiple reports of shootings, looting, and vandalism that took place thereafter. Several people lost their lives amidst these protests and the Minneapolis mayor even went on to say, “Peaceful protests have turned to domestic terrorism”. Businesses that were looted suffered. Many people continue to suffer as a result of the events that came to pass. Talking about the issues isn’t the problem, The problem lies in not knowing how far is too far. Violence is never the answer.

Racism has also become a convenient scapegoat to blame, for people’s lack of effort in bettering their own lives. It is so easy to blame a concept or race when things don’t go your own way. I am a true believer in one’s hard work and efforts to pay off. If we constantly focus on everything bad in our lives, then that is the only thing we will see. It is easy to be blinded by the negativity. If we focus on race, then all we will see is ‘race’. There are far better things in your own life to focus on and there are good people out there. Those who do not discriminate. Those who do not see color as a disadvantage or setback. We have to unite as one people and rise above race, color, and discrimination to create an environment where racism cannot thrive.

As one people from this beautiful planet we live on, I hope to see a brighter day, one where we don’t see colour but each other’s hearts. Let us be compassionate and help one another every chance we get.

I hope this was a useful read. I wish you all a good day and to all of you who happened to end up here; let us all do our part to make this world a better and safer place for our children.