I was withdrawing on commenting on today's verdict in the Ferguson case because as a white person what could I say? I didn't feel like I had the right to say anything. This video however, moved me.
I have known a different type of discrimination, but never to the severity African Americans have known in US history or abroad. I have been teased, bullied, and otherwise for being a woman. For being thin. For being motivated. For being different and poor. For my choice of jobs. However, again nothing that would remotely justify my ability to relate to racial issues.
Growing up, when my father was drunk, he was a belligerent racist. I would cower in shame. One boy when I was young was not permitted to play with me because he was black. As a young adult, I was told I couldn't date another boy because he was biracial.
What I found in these experiences was a profound deep lack of understanding and compassion. Not just on a race level, but a living being level.
Today, while driving to work, I thought about how if there was one single thing I would want to achieve in this life, it would be equality of all living beings. A post on Facebook about a horrific action on an incident animal made me reaffirm this.
While I listened to the latest Forbes magazine of the worth of famous actors and musicians, I reaffirmed this yet again. There is nothing in the world that can buy compassion, loving kindness and the courage to understand one another.
Getting back to this video- it speaks of the need to go back to ourselves and discover who we truly are and not adopt the mantras and actions of our parents, grandparents and ancestors. It is up to us to discover our deepest selves. Who are you aside from your body, your job, your house? Who are YOU?
Perhaps if we spent more time seeking that answer, we could see that all sentient beings are of value. We are all uniquely different and gloriously the same. We come from the same place. A place of grace.
Watch with open ears and open eyes at one man's observation of what could happen if we were to let go of our fable of who we think we are.
Peace and love to you and all those who seek equality. Let's start a new chapter in human history.
