The Burden Of Being A Male-Black or Otherwise.

Recently, there has been so much news about racism in the U.S. and their unfair treatment at the hands of the police. The videos cannot be argued with. If you are a black male in the U.S. you are at risk, period. It doesn't matter the level of your education or the level of your income. It doesn't matter if you are an upstanding citizen. At some point, if you are black in America, you will be treated differently. That is sad. That is a burden that is hard to carry.


I am sure to a smaller degree, it happens in Canada too. Our cultural blanket includes so many different nationalities that it is sure to rub against someone, someplace or other, subtle and not so subtle. 

And at the core of it, I believe, is that we forget to treat others with respect from a place of non-judgment and no conclusions. 



The aborginal community suffers from this, the Muslim community, the Hindu community, Asians... and the list is endless and includes any suspicious male including white, if they are in an area that is judged or concluded to be suspicious for whatever the reason is given or not.


Recently on Facebook there was a photo shared of a white man waiting in a car in our neigborhood, in the parking lot of an outdoor pool. He had been seen there multiple times. Some concerned citizen took a photo and posted it. I saw the photo and comment that perhaps he was waiting for his child who was in the pool? What if someone simply went over and said hello, I have noticed you waiting and because of my fear I was wondering what you are doing? 


I did not share the photo.

When did we begin to jump to conclusions so quickly-oh yes the media's reports on our perceived unsafe world and we decide that is true without checking in with ourselves and our awarenesses to see if it is true for us in our lives. Yes-stuff happens but it isn't as widespread as the media would have us believe. There is more goodness on our planet than anything else. 


What if we began to celebrate the goodness? What if we acknowledged a job well done to those that serve us, to a dad being particularly playful or patient with their child? What if we acknowledged the contributions that our husband is to our life? What if we acknowledged the magnficence of our own boys and their friends? 


What if we acknowledged to the police that yes there jobs are difficult and we thank you for what you do and what if the police stepped back out of the fear and noticed the human being standing in front of them? What if we helped them to remember?


I have many questions and few, if any, answers. I do know that there is a better way. We can help cultivate a peaceful and loving world by offering that in our immediate lives. How much easier does it get than that? 


We can become more peaceful in our lives and create more peace on the planet. Simple-yes. Easy? Not always but it is so worth the journey. 


Men are wonderful beings struggling along with the rest of us to do their best. That shouldn't be anymore of a burden than it already is.

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