LEARNING TOGETHER: The Story of America
When an incident of racial violence happens especially on a major scale like a mass shooting, people say, “This is not us.” I say, this is us, but it doesn’t have to be us.
Hate for the other has been around since the founding of our nation. From the beginning, European white immigrants who traveled to America already had an idea of what civilized humans looked like, acted like and if you didn’t fit their model; you were labeled a savage. To justify the importation of slaves, the Christian bible was used to dehumanize Africans/Blacks even further. Then came pseudo-science that gave legitimacy to the lie of Black inferiority. After that came laws from the lowest to the highest courts that legalized the hatred of Black Americans. This is us and this is how we got here.
There is nothing new about the Great Replacement Theory except that now you have people in leadership roles, politicians and media outlets pushing the lie instantly to a massive audience. There is nothing like fear, ignorance, and hatred of others that don’t fit your model of the “classic American” aka white Christian conservative male to either get people to the polls, gain power, build a following and or profit off hate. Racist is a profitable business; it has been for generations.
Why do they hate us?
They fear us. They fear us like the slave masters feared their slaves might one day revolt, angry over their enslavement and kill their oppressors. They fear Black intelligence. A thinking man is dangerous man. He might just understand the devastation that systematic racism has on his people and want to do something about it. They fear our Blackness. Black is beautiful, it really is. And when we can look in the mirror and see the beauty in our hair, lips, and skin color, we no longer idolize the European standard of beauty. They fear our determination because our success challenges the ultimate lie of white superiority.
We are nation built on the lie of white superiority. By hating us, they can keep the lie of white superiority alive. They can keep the lie that the only true Americans are white people. They can keep the lie that only white people can create laws for our country. They can keep the lie that only traditional white cultural values are America’s values. They can keep the lie that the only history that matters is what white people did to build America. They can keep the lie that their (Jewish) Christian God only loves white people.
But when the lie of white superiority is challenged, you know with facts, it all comes tumbling down. The lie cannot survive the truth that white people are not a superior race. No one race is better than another race. But for some folks, all they have to hold on to is their belief in white superiority. The lie is their life. They will kill to maintain their lie aka the Southern way of life philosophy, which can only be maintained by the oppression of Black Americans.
Hate is not a mental illness. It is learned. Hate has been built into the fabric of America. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We have learned over time that you can’t legislate hate away. Laws can’t make you love your Black neighbor. But when people, Americans, decide that enough is enough and start demanding that those who hate, those who push hate, those who give hate a platform and especially those who murder in the name of hate are held accountable, these racists will no longer be the leading voices in our nation. When Americans speak up loudly against hate, we take away their power. When Americans promote diversity and inclusion (and we don’t have to explain to racists why diversity is better for our country), we grow as a nation
When Americans learn about politicians who announce their belief in the Great Replacement Theory, we vote them out (haters/racists don’t deserve representation). When Americans stop allowing haters to hide via internet platforms, we own our nation. When Americans unite and understand that there are more of us than those who hate us, our country wins.
OUR HISTORY MATTERS
#27
From the Tulsa Race Riot to the Buffalo Mass Shooting and beyond… It's time for America to choose love over hate.
