Black History Month *Must Read* Special
RESPECT should start with oneself... from the household, to the neighborhood, the community, district, entire nation and World. But it starts with YOU!
The shortest month of the YEAR is not enough to celebrate Black History Month... The contributors and editors of LorinsPost.com and Discuss Race (Facebook) would like to remind everyone to celebrate Black History Month every day. Black lives don't just matter after something bad happens to have happened to a Black person. To show that Black lives matter, ALL PEOPLE must respect one another because we are all human beings/people first and then we are our race/phenotype second. I am saying this because respect must start at home. Today, there are many Blacks that don't respect other Blacks because they are not from their clans, country, tribe, etc. There is a French saying that goes like, "If you want to be respected, respect yourself first by earning it".
RESPECT has to be earned (unfortunately). Obviously, it is not enough to just be a human being. In a World where image is everything, we MUST all learn to earn each other's respect. The human race is not comprised of just Whites and Blacks. Rather, it is comprised various shades and sub-shades and individuals of mixed ancestry. Ultimately, anything can make us look different from one another on the surface. While our souls, spirits and phenotypes may differ, we are all human beings and about 99% the same genetically. Accordingly, let us promote RESPECT despite our differing views...
Look at your neighborhoods... When was the last time you created a neighborhood crime watch to at least maintain a status quo? How about a neighborhood clean-up crew? When was the last time you helped your neighbor who shares the same ancestry or color? Yet, you want others who differ in more ways on the surface to accept you and like you when you cannot accept or like those that are closest to you. This is NOT LOGICAL!
Let us not be hypocrites. I love ALL PEOPLE. But, being a proud Black man, I love Black people too much at times, perhaps it is because I understand their past, current and future struggles. I am a firm believer that all our struggles start in our HEADS first (i.e., they are psychological). MIND over MATTER. Our minds do sometimes play tricks on us. YES, Blacks fought to end slavery. YES, Blacks fought for earned civil rights. BUT, have we collectively and modernly created enough highly-organized NEIGHBORHOODS, COMMUNITIES and NATIONS for which others can truly RESPECT US and savor our contributions to humanity yet? Are we yet truly WORTHY of being compared with images of UNITY, TEAMWORK, and COLLABORATION FOR COMMUNITY AND COUNTRY BUILDING for our own sake yet?
Yes, pockets of us can see the mountain top. Despite the fact that many of us are highly-intelligent, we don’t seem to be interested in directly helping the less fortunate once we have reached our dreams. My every day observation of behavior appears to indicate that many of us are still TOO SELF-CENTERED to even see the plight of the common man until our own child gets shot by someone who seems to care even less than we care about our own. Essentially, what have you done for the human race lately? Heck, what have you done for Black people, which deserve to be celebrated? Yes, we can celebrate past achievements of giants all day and night, but that will not change the plight of Black folks either today or tomorrow.
SOLUTIONS
1. If you think you're WISER, step up to the plate to mentor those who have not seen the light yet in a non-condescending and loving manner so that one day they will be emancipated from mental slavery as well.
2. Realize that it is important to work with everyone and yes that includes WHITES and all others. It is equally important to win the hearts of Blacks who are still mental slavery/bondage as it is to win that of those who hate Black people. Many Black haters (and that also includes some Blacks), often, had a bad experience with Black folks to support their conviction about their beliefs. Thus, only good experiences and love can counter bad experiences and hate.
3. Debunk the notion that Blacks don't need to be accepted by others. That they can stand alone. This is "BS"! No man is an island. WE SO DO! We all can learn from each other, no matter what our races are, we all need someone to lean on... Let's work with those who want to help and let's keep them accountable. Let's build households, communities, and nations together... We cannot expect to exclude and insult others via utterances of past societal ails that they induced on us, yet concurrently encourage them to assist along at the same time, especially when we’re not doing enough on our own to help our own neighborhoods.
4. Let us mentor our youth better. Heck, let's make it a requirement to graduate from college and to get a raise at most companies especially government entities. Every child who has no father or mother figure in his/her life is at risk. We all need someone to look up to. I know I did!
5. Let's show love to each other. I'm not just talking about BLACK LOVE. We're HUMANS FIRST, then BLACK, then, MALES, FEMALES, etc... Black love is amazing, but the raw human love that we displayed during the September 11 WTC explosions transcends Black Love... it is love from GOD himself because GOD is LOVE and in the end only LOVE can counter HATE
Don’t get me wrong. It’s OK to celebrate Black History Month, and it’s OK to protest when bad things happen to Blacks or other groups, but let us strive to prevent them to begin with. Let's look into ourselves and self-correct, adjust, and modernize our thinking better. PREVENTION IS THE BEST MEDICINE!
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This article was written by Dr. Pete Lorins, Chief Editor of LorinsPost.com and is sponsored by RapidGigsPlus.com. LorinsPOST.com will be adding paid article writers and bloggers in 2016. Thus, if you're interested in this opportunity, please submit your resume to Recruit@RapidGigsPlus.com at your earliest convenience.