Isms and Phobias

Isms and Phobias

            Racism, homophobia, sexism, isms and phobias have been around since the dawn of man. There have been times that it is so blatant and in your face that you couldn’t look away. Other times is played off as joke, a slight stereotype that is supposed to be funny because it’s based on truth. Then you have times when you aren’t sure but something just feels off. No matter which category it falls into it is always around. During the Civil Rights Movement it was so unabashed that my hometown was renamed Bombingham and it made international news. Our own personal isms and phobias are usually pretty well hidden, there are some that wear them proudly, but for the most part we as a civilized society keep them locked away. Is keeping them locked away the best idea though? Does that really help us get to a point where everyone is in deed treated equal?

            Movies are a great reflection of where society is a whole when they are made. You can go back and watch movies from earlier years and gasp at the language that is being used. I am glad to say that we as a society have moved a few feet forward in not tolerating certain derogatory terminology. One thing in all the movies though you can pick up on subtle stereotyping, the racism and sexism is usually more overt. If a story has either racism or sexism as a plot line it is done up in a big way, you as a viewer are going to know just how racist or sexist the character(s) are. I can watch these movies through the lens of knowledge that certain things used to be tolerated and now they aren’t. I still cringe and think that I would be apologizing to my co-star for having to use such fowl language to them, about them, or even near them. I know it is all in the act but as a person I would still feel uncomfortable. 

            What would you do if you saw someone being racist? Not what you think you would do, know is the right answer, but what would you really do? If we are totally honest with ourselves, we would probably turn away or some might even start to video it (since these are the times we are living in) but most of us will not intervene. I know that is hard to swallow, but come on you know that it is the truth. That is the thing about truth, it hard to choke down sometimes especially if it revels our shadow side, the “bad” side in us. Think about all the times at the office party where someone made a stereotype joke, you laughed didn’t you? Sure it was funny, I mean it is based on the truth so it can’t be offensive right? You realize that it came from a racist thought about a person(s); it evolved from a thought that was at it’s core prejudiced against an entire population but it’s funny right? 

            I am not suggesting I am perfect, that fact is just laughable but I can say that I have learned over the years to recognize the isms and phobias in me and around me. It was a very long process and I still struggle with it sometimes but I am thankful I have friends that I can speak honestly with and ask if something is offensive. Speaking of offensive, there was a movement in the 70’s to bring exposure to the Native American populations throughout North America through movies and other media. In watching some of these movies it struck me as to how towns all across America viewed the Native Americans whose reservations were close to the towns, the racism was horrific. I cannot get over just how racist people are towards Native Americans. I was lucky enough to get to visit a Cherokee reservation and the school that was there. To hear about the hardships at the hands of “white” America that they are still facing today is wrong. Now do I think the Native Americans did play a part in some of their issues? Yes of course I do but they have had a long and storied history in dealing with the rest of the population. 

            I am finding that in the year 2020 we are having a resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan, White Nationalist, and other racist groups. It is such a sad realization that we are taking a huge step backward into our past and only bringing with us the horrific parts when we return. I’ll be honest when I was younger and thought of the year 2020 I just knew that everyone would be all mixed up together and there wouldn’t be anymore discrimination, little did we all know. I can remember seeing my very first interracial couple and I thought it was the most beautiful thing but I also remember hearing a word that even then made me cringe although I didn’t know the meaning until I asked. I almost wish I hadn’t ever asked and was oblivious to it all still. I can remember meeting my first homosexual friend and I talked his ear off, I asked so many questions and he was gracious enough to be patient with me and let me ask away. Those encounters really stick out to me, they shaped the way I viewed the world and the people in it. 

            It saddens me that we are always hearing reports of people being racist against a certain sector of the population. We have had to have a huge movement to address sexism in our culture. These things should not being happening, we should be better than this. Isms and phobias need their place in history and that is where they need to stay, we are smarter than that. One thing that I have learned, if you go about it in a sincere manner you can ask someone if you aren’t sure something is racist, sexist, homophobic. The majority of people would be glad to educate you so that you are one more person who won’t be that way toward them and you could possibly educate others. I wouldn’t think that by now we would be in such need of education but now more than ever we need education and we need to be open to what it teaches us. As we as a population move forward let’s educate ourselves to be better than before, let’s teach our children the true meaning of “color-blindness”, and let’s finally realize we are all human, even if that is all we have in common, it’s a great start to a wonderful world!