The Cancer of Racism

‘A Political View’ By Sherry Holliman

Almost everyone has made one of these statements at some point in their lives: “I am not racist,” “I guarantee you I am 100 percent not racist,” “there is not one racist bone in my body,” or something to that effect.

Admitting to being a “racist” is the same as admitting to something you don’t like. Being a “racist” is describing who you are as a person. The cancer of racism will always continue to spread in America, because the ones with the power refuse to acknowledge other different groups as their equals.

Being a racist is implying that something is wrong or right with a certain group.

Each group has different views about each other, and those views stimulate prejudiced behavior and attitudes. Racial groups empower each other, with their own superiorist’s mentality supporting racial inequalities. Race is exploited as a social barrier to establish and maintain power in political and economic affairs in America. The truth is there will always be two Americas, based on race and class. The cancer of racism strongly exist in the halls of Congress, state legislatures, educational institutions, judicial proceedings, and the evidence can be seen in minorities fighting for equal rights.

If it’s not gerrymandering or redistricting to dilute our voting power, it’s constructing private prisons and using the War on Drugs as a conduit to mass incarceration. In addition to closing schools in impoverished neighborhoods across the nation, also it’s cutting social programs that ease the strenuous burden put on struggling households every day.

Society is so blind on the issue of race, forgetting it is a choice not a person.

Racism is real, it causes people to segregate, to harm others, and to act unlawful.

It is as silent a killer as cancer. If racism is not diagnosed it will spread, create pain, and cost individuals, communities, and society the opportunity to grow together as a nation.

Has anyone noticed the pathetic state of American politics and the words our elected leaders and other influencers are reduced to using it is shameful, it’s a wonder a racial war has not begun.

There was a time that politicians and other leaders took a moment and thought out the results of their words and actions before publicly speaking them.

When elected officials consent to supporting racial inequality and an unjust system, and the voters continue to elect them, they are causing harm because the nation will never fully progress as a society. If you can make a difference with healing a racist and you don’t you have made a choice to support racial inequalities.

People can change their mindset and not allow racism to become a terminal illness. The cancer of racism manipulates people into voting for political parties that has no interest in solving their financial or social issues. The cancer of racism has politicians of both parties creating laws to turn back time to divisive policies. The cancer of racism allows some attorneys the power to exercise their privileges portraying innocent children as criminals.

We all have a story to tell based on our personal experiences. If people would stop for one moment to ask, let alone listen to the stories of the people that are different, many may find some common interest during the conversation.

We all want to be loved and feel that we belong to something that makes us secure. How much of our comfort zone are we willing to give up to bridge the gap between us and them?

Can you start the healing process today with yourself or someone else?