"We must be humble about what we have become."

[Kind of Blue]

"I am a fierce, forever feminist. But I still have sexism and misogyny running through my veins. It takes a lifetime to clear these out. You can be one thing and your subconscious can be another thing.

How many images of black bodies being thrown to the ground have I ingested? How many news reports have I inhaled passively – how many images of jails filled with black bodies? How many casually racist jokes have I swallowed? Over the decades and centuries and days, we’ve breathed in countless images meant to convince us that black men are dangerous and that black women are dispensable and that all black bodies are worth less than white bodies. We have just been breathing.

Listen. We can be good, kind, justice loving, anti-racist people in our hearts and minds – but if we’re living here – we’re still canaries raised in a racist mine. We can be good, justice-loving people-but if we’re living here-we’re still canaries in a racist mine We’ve still been breathing the air- and we’ve been conditioned. So our knee jerk reaction to a black man approaching us might be fear. Our subconscious might kick in before our mind and heart can catch up. And we might pull that trigger faster than we would if the body approaching us was white. And that black girl not responding to our request to stand up – well we might take her down faster than we’d ever take down a white body. Because our subconscious has been trained to believe she’s belligerent, disrespectful, dangerous and dispensable.

We must be humble about what we have become."

"Why I’m Prejudiced & So Are You" http://momastery.com/blog/2015/10/28/why-prejudiced/

[lovemydog]

1. I like this article Kind of Blue.

As a white guy friend and ally, I agree with those who say racism is a white people's problem. We must look within ourselves to help resolve and improve these matters. That takes daily commitment and sharing with friends, other allies, other white people. I believe every white person has prejudice within. It should be discussed, analyzed. Dialogue is where it's at.

I'll share an embarrassing moment where I was racist. Last May I met a black attorney who was doing some work with me. I'm a basketball fan. One day at his office, while the NBA Finals were going on, I started blabbing about the playoffs. Going on about the Warriors, LeBron etc. Asked him if he wanted to go watch a game. He replied 'I'm not that into basketball.' I thought of Wanda Sykes telling Larry David 'Oh, that's right Larry. You think just 'cause I'm black I must be into basketball? Yeah, Larry. That's all we ever do. Just sit around watching basketball. Way to go Larry.' Of course I apologized & we moved on. But that was a racist & assumption on my part. White people do this kind of stuff all the time. Especially in terms of being full of fear and anxiety around black people. It must feel dehumanizing.

Thanks for sharing this article. You rock.

[Kind of Blue]

2. Awww! You Rock, lovemydog!

We can all try to deprogram just as you did with your colleague. It's just consistently being aware of our feelings as much as we can, as you were. I know I have to suppress my fear when approaching a bunch of white teen boys. I have to remember that they're just kids and not necessarily racist. I have to calm down while driving and see a cop cruiser, though I know I see them all the time.

Thanks so much for sharing your story and how you processed that simple experience. It's a joy to know

[lovemydog]

3. It's a joy knowing you

too Kind of Blue. It fascinates me that we all want to keep interacting, keep talking, keep sharing. Human beings have that need. By the way, cop cruisers scare me too. I try and stay away from all police. Really sad. We pay them to supposedly serve and protect us. I really appreciate your insights and am proud to call you a friend (online! lol).

[Kind of Blue]

4. Yeah, that's the best part of being human!

I love Anne Frank's quote, "In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can’t build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery, and death."

I'm counting on the goodness in all of us to help stop the fear, brutality and killing caused by police