This is a fabulous blog. I believe that racism is hard to understand in Utah because we have so few minorities. I literally did not speak to a black person until I went to college. That is weird for a lot of people to comprehend. Its weirder that I recall that feeling, that conversation, that ignorance to this very minute. Then, I moved to a city where the population was very diverse for a while. I was the only white person at the company I worked at, and one day I asked my coworker why I never got invited to hang out with our other coworkers? They all hung out every Tuesday evening after work. She looked at me, shocked, that I asked, and answered: youre pasty white, what could you possibly want to do with us? I was shocked!! My parents raised me to respect everyone unless they had given me a reason to not respect them. This woman, told me, Mormons, dont allow blacks in your church. I laughed and told her, not everyone in Utah is Mormon. So, Ferguson is real, racism is real, ignorance is real. I have a few good friends that are Police Officers, I dislike their job, but dont want to do it either. I think most Americans judge people automatically based on the first thing they see; color, weight, tattoos, height, etc. The cop may have defended himself or felt threatened or he may have judged this young man based on color and then felt threatened and shot him. The reason this is an issue is not cop vs civilian, the issue is, too many people judge based on the cover and not the context. Become educated, work as a community, and learn about other cultures.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 04:54:19 +0000