Yesterday, I had to go to our local food emporium with the unsuspecting, very tough sounding name, "Bill's." I went to Bill's with the intention to buy some stir fry strips of steak, bananas, a bag of Reese's little peanut butter cups, a small loaf of French bread, butter, Fruit Loops, and milk. OK, so I got home, and put the paper grocery sack on the kitchen counter, and realized as my wife asked, "Did you get the laundry...." and she no more than got that far, that I grabbed my keys again, and frustratingly got into my steed again for the momentary, doofus trip to Bill's to buy a giganto tub of Tide (I love the the smell of Tide in the morning!). So, I buy that and some WD-40 (don't ask), obviously going to a different line so as not to freak out the nice check out guy in returning to him, letting him think that I am somewhat of a doofus for forgetting something. I begin to make my way around the parking lot, so I can exit, when I stop to let a car go past me. Now, where I am stopped, I am looking right at the front of Bill's, or at least the nice brick facade that covers the entire right side of it. As I look at that wall, I see something behind the winter bare shrubbery that catches my eye. In big, bold, black spraypaint were the words, "Fuck Racism." I just sat there in my steed unable to move, because well, for one, even though I have to somehow agree that racism is evil and wrong, I was appalled at the fact that there it was, two words that really don't seem to go together at all.
Ironic that as a country, we just commemorated the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. the other day whose ministry and call into life was to advocate for the removal of racism within the fabric of America. MLK did this through non-violence. I am sure that words of hate and intolerance were always thrown at he and those who believed his message, but nonetheless, his approach to end racism was built on the premise of resistant love. Seeing the combination of words that I did Sunday afternoon made me stop and think. Why use such a vulgar word that connotes power, demand, and indifference WITH a word that connotes marginalization, minority, and intolerance? Maybe some would see that the use of both words are one in the same. I tend to think that if you are going to vent your views on racism, why not try to use a more productive, pro-active approach to advertising your sentiment.
Would it not have been more in the vein of non-violent approach of MLK to phrase it like, "End Racism," "End Hate," or "Love Wins?" If I read any of those, I don't think I would be so offended as those phrases would call us to action. But to just say fuck it, does not do anything but offer some sort of defeatist attitude to the whole issue of racism. It's as if they are not interested in actually doing anything about it, but to just be angry about it. Being angry about anything is not fixing anything. Unless that anger is pro-actively seeking to address the issues and do something about them. I was telling someone this morning what I saw, and he casually mentioned that maybe that message to the store of Bill's itself...as if Bill's is a racist organization that does not hire people of color. Perhaps. Considering that every time I go in there, I see all white people - shoppers and employees alike, it make me wonder if that's the case. I don't know. You like to think that most businesses around you are not that narrow-minded and shrewd in their business practices. But, those places do exist unfortunately. To which I ask "can't we all just get along?" Maybe that's not really what people want, at least not those who negatively persist in countering racism with hatred and unassuming intolerance. Ironic don't you think? Racism as a system needs solutions as opposed to more problems. Tagging a grocery store does not add to any solution. More later...
Ironic that as a country, we just commemorated the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. the other day whose ministry and call into life was to advocate for the removal of racism within the fabric of America. MLK did this through non-violence. I am sure that words of hate and intolerance were always thrown at he and those who believed his message, but nonetheless, his approach to end racism was built on the premise of resistant love. Seeing the combination of words that I did Sunday afternoon made me stop and think. Why use such a vulgar word that connotes power, demand, and indifference WITH a word that connotes marginalization, minority, and intolerance? Maybe some would see that the use of both words are one in the same. I tend to think that if you are going to vent your views on racism, why not try to use a more productive, pro-active approach to advertising your sentiment.
Would it not have been more in the vein of non-violent approach of MLK to phrase it like, "End Racism," "End Hate," or "Love Wins?" If I read any of those, I don't think I would be so offended as those phrases would call us to action. But to just say fuck it, does not do anything but offer some sort of defeatist attitude to the whole issue of racism. It's as if they are not interested in actually doing anything about it, but to just be angry about it. Being angry about anything is not fixing anything. Unless that anger is pro-actively seeking to address the issues and do something about them. I was telling someone this morning what I saw, and he casually mentioned that maybe that message to the store of Bill's itself...as if Bill's is a racist organization that does not hire people of color. Perhaps. Considering that every time I go in there, I see all white people - shoppers and employees alike, it make me wonder if that's the case. I don't know. You like to think that most businesses around you are not that narrow-minded and shrewd in their business practices. But, those places do exist unfortunately. To which I ask "can't we all just get along?" Maybe that's not really what people want, at least not those who negatively persist in countering racism with hatred and unassuming intolerance. Ironic don't you think? Racism as a system needs solutions as opposed to more problems. Tagging a grocery store does not add to any solution. More later...
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