Am I Racist because I was Raised in the South?

A family member brought this to my attention today. She asked a question very similar to the title of this blog. It got me thinking...never a good thing, right? 

I am a recovering, not-aware racist. That's the only way I know to put it. I was not aware that I was judging others by skin color, heritage, or anything of the sort. I honestly did not realize it. Until I met my husband. LOL...Love you honey!!

Until Johnnie, I had never been close to anyone who was openly against inter-racial dating, used derogatory slang religiously, or thought that "they" were "all the same". (Love you honey.) 

I started to see myself not only become more open about my own hatreds, but also I started to adopt his. The jokes, the comments, the meanness was funny to us, a joke between the two of us and our friends. (We were so far off.)

As I have gotten older, I realized that I was an active part in this way of thinking, I was enabling it, as well as spouting it. I was a part of the hatred that is eating our human race alive. I was guilty...I have since changed my views, my own personal way of thinking. It started slowly; realizing it, seeing it, trying to stop it, and finally answering for it. 

Let me be the first one to tell you that hatred, of anyone or anything, will only eat you up inside. It affects those around you, especially your kids, and it brings you down. You are not better for having hatred in your heart or on your tongue. That does NOT make you a bigger person.

Now as for the title of this note...'Am I racist because I'm from the south?'

I would answer "Yes" and "No".

YES, being in the Bible belt, from the south, where the KKK was in full support and very active, you are raised being told that you are the superior race because there are more of "us". You are told that God does not like blacks, yellows, reds, browns, or gays. Why anyone would think that God was a member of the KKK I'll never understand, but it has been said or implied. Yes, you look up to your parents as a child-right or wrong. They are where you learn without even realizing you are learning...it just kind of seeps in and becomes a part of who you are. It is a vicious cycle, a very strong chain, it goes waaaaaay back.

I personally am ashamed to have to admit that I was ever in that way of thinking. And I know a lot of people who are going to be offended in learning this about me. I was. I know some people who this may hurt them initially and that hurts me, because I love them. I am just hoping that they read on and that they understand what I am saying and what it is I am trying to do here.

NO, Because we are taught things from childhood that we grow up and grow out of too. It is so easy to say, "I was raised that way." and just let it go on. But in all reality, I was raised to eat lots of breads, starches with every meal, I was taught that ear wax will cure a cold sore, that religion is to never be questioned, that some roads only go one way, and that we shouldn't mix races or genders. A lot of people in my family believed this way and still do, and they will fight tooth and nail to push those beliefs as right. I have grown up and learned to think for myself now. I have actively changed my views and so has Johnnie. Johnnie went to work at GSF over a year ago. That is where his eyes were opened to how wrong we were. His best friend, Chad, is not white-ohhhhhh, yep, I said it, he's BLACK! Johnnie learned through Chad that his views were so far off base that he can't even believe he ever thought that way. The one person who I thought would never see eye to eye with any man that wasn't white, has grown in himself and in his beliefs and he has changed. (I'm so proud of him!)

Being in the south, you hear things everyday...bad things about all different people. I finally had to ask myself, "What have the white people done?" We came in, stole land from the Indians, raped, pillaged, stole, disgraced ourselves, and we are still doing it. We murder, we cheat, we lie, we hurt people, we are greedy and vengeful, we do very bad things in the name of religion, we are not a "Good Race", as many people believe us to be. Not to mention...How white are you exactly? I am not even really sure what white is anymore. I am polish, russian (Ukranian), welsh, cherokee and who knows what else-well Jason knows. How about you? Can you name where your genetics come from? None of us are free from sin. Because we are human! We are human...we all are. There are bad apples in each and every race. There are good people in each and every race. There are people who are still on the fence in each and every race. It has nothing to do with skin color. It has to do with upbringing. 

The one thing that we all seem to forget is that we are not the ones to judge anyone else. I know, I know, it is often easier said than done, because often we do not even realize we are passing a judgment on someone. And a lot of the time, we can find many ways to justify passing a judgment. 

I think my point here is...being from the south does in fact open you up to racism and bigotry more so than anywhere else. But it does NOT make you racist. You make you racist. It is a choice that you make. And even when you make the choice to not be that way any longer, you will find yourself sometimes saying a joke, laughing at a joke, or in your mind making an assumption about someone based on race, religion, heritage, culture, etc...It is always there, a fungus on your being. Even as disgusting as you see it to be, it can creep in at the most random of times and make you face yourself once again. 

We need to see people as people, not as colors. If someone is what you consider bad, find out why you really think that...I bet it has nothing to do with race. 

Actively stop yourself from having those thoughts, making those statements, or passing those judgments. There is no place for hatred in our world...look at what it has done to us. It's gotten us nowhere. It only hurts us and others. Why do we want to hurt anyone? We need to come together, not rip one another apart.