A Social Balancing Act

It didn’t start in Minneapolis. It didn’t really start in Fergusson, MO., a few years ago.

Several years ago, the education industry, broadly speaking, adopted the theme of making students lifelong learners. Maybe one of the problems with racism is we adults are not good lifelong learners, and consequently our children either are not good lifelong learners themselves, or teach us.

The issue of racism is a simple question with a complicated answer. Start with why are you (even looking in the mirror) treating another person differently, or valuing them differently.

“Well, because...” and the voice fades off into uncertainty. Or the explanation trails off into near legend identity that the storyteller can’t fully explain. It has been part of his or her family for so many generations he can’t remember how it started.

I had a conversation with a friend recently, a situation I invited because this friend — based on appearances — could be identified as having vastly different life experiences. Actually, he does, but not because of his skin color or social experiences that come with it. He is aware of people, some in his family, who have first hand accounts of marches.

To finish the scenario, after watching and observing for a long period of time, I wanted to see if someone would share what it is like to walk in the other guy’s shoes. What is it like to walk through a neighborhood and be labeled a minority, an outsider? What is it like to see a uniformed officer and question if he is “colorblind” or makes decisions based on racial bias?

These are questions the American society, and much of the world is examining at various levels. This is also where the simple question may require a multi-faceted answer.

We need to ask ourselves how do we value — admit it, profile — another person. The word profile was give a name reputation, but it really is just assessing someone or something on what we observe and put into context available; assessing value with limited knowledge.

With that in mind, are we willing to change when new information is provided? Are we willing to admit race or skin color has almost nothing to do with moral value? I’ve heard the debate since the few sociology and psychology classes I took in college “is it by nature or nurture?” Did said person’s behavior result from what influenced him or by how he is designed? Did your racial bias start by some incident that happened three generations ago, or by something you were encouraged to believe?

It was Socrates who said, loosely translated, that an unexamined life is not worth living. Maybe we need to separate the issues. The social violence is one issue and the disregard for bias is another. They can be separated, but we also must admit there is a link.

We need to start by learning from each other, recognize change does and will happen. Are willing to encourage law enforcement to apply the law to everyone, regardless of skin color or history, and accept the results? Officers need to be accountable just like the rest of us, but they also need to have the authority to apply the law, and protect the citizens of the community they serve.

It sounds good, even ideal, but it starts with people willing to learn from each other, and stop defining people by their race.