Racism as a mental illness is perhaps more closer to the truth than any assessment Ive heard in all my life. Beyond racism, we are dealing with a SYSTEM OF BELIEFS that the individual and masses have accepted as true and fact about the nature of reality and themselves. Little is said about the individuals personal beliefs about God, themselves, good and evil, and light and dark. BLACK is a symbol of evil, darkness, in one system of beliefs, and to be BLACK is to live in poverty, struggle, disease; WHITE is seen as GOOD, LIGHT, INNOCENT, and PURE, and to be WHITE is to live in grace, protected, healthy, and wealthy. In another system of beliefs, BLACK/BROWN SKIN is seen as powerful, romanticized for its exotic nature, and symbol of spiritual perfection, great spiritual understanding (Indian, African gurus, shamans). In another system of beliefs, WHITE SKIN is seen as a sign of moral deterioration, callousness, hatred, devil, embarrassing riches, and spiritual poverty. If you hold any of these beliefs, then you will fit comfortably within them. Now add Hispanic, Asian, Jewish, or whatever you choose to identify yourselves as, to the mapping of these beliefs and you will also find more similarities. Hopefully, in your work, you will discover you are dealing with an unquestioned set of ideas that have been handed to you by your family, friends, institutions, religions, and educational systems.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 15:06:37 +0000