June 2, 2020 -- Day 58. Blackout Tuesday

Yes, today is Blackout Tuesday.  Many Facebook friends have this as their profile picture, including me:

This is in honor and remembrance of all of the Black people who have suffered at the hands of policemen and others for doing absolutely nothing besides being the color black.   I have to say once again, there but for a chance of fate go them instead of me.  I have done a lot of soul searching today and while the situation seems bleak and unresolvable, I have to go back to the one way we have all learned to correct our behavior and that is through education.  We learned how to stop smoking, how to prevent AIDS, how to not kill people while driving drunk -- all through education.

I believe it could help if schools put the subject of "race" in their curriculum early in the learning process.  I'm not talking about just a month to learn "African American" or "Hispanic American" or "Asian American" history alone.  I submit that the subject should continue from kindergarten through high school.  We as a society need to learn from each other what it is like to be Black in this country.  I think kids need to start their lives knowing what it is like to be different.  I know that forced integration didn't work but maybe they were on the right track.  Searching through my childhood memories, I don't remember ever encountering a Black person until I got to college and then there were darn few.  How could I be expected to not be a little nervous about the "unknown?"  Things haven't really changed.  Even though the government has legislated that people cannot be discriminated against with regarding to housing, people still choose to live amongst similar people. 

If our children grow up in a mixed race community -- do you think all of this would be as bad?  I think children, being children, would be more open and communicative.  

And here's the other thing.  You know how you play a game and you are loosing terribly?  You loose over and over again at that game. Well you come to believe that you can't win.  Don't you think that this principle could apply to Black people today.

I am just so ashamed and sorry.  I apologized to one Black woman at the grocery store for this situation and she said - "oh that's all right" -- I said "no, it is not okay."  

It's Not Okay!  Let's Fix It!!