I got to thinking about how I figure into all of this, what I can do to protest and to support others and decided to write this piece.
I ACKNOWLEDGE that I am a Caucasian, not black or brown-skinned and therefore cannot really understand what they go through. For that matter, I will never really know what it is that they experience!
I ACKNOWLEDGE that I do not live at the poverty level. I never have experienced it and most likely never will.
I ACKNOWLEDGE that I do not have to worry about where I will sleep tonight. I am grateful for my comfortable condo, bed, clean sheets, blankets and pillows, airconditioning during the summer and heat during the winter.
I ACKNOWLEDGE that I do not go hungry. Never have and probably never will. I can afford to eat out and to cook healthy, delicious meals at home.
I ACKNOWLEDGE that I do not have to worry about paying my bills. I pay in full, on time, and am not in debt to anyone. I own my condo and my car.
I ACKNOWLEDGE that for the most part that I do not have to worry about what others think of me. This is true if only because I am 75 years old this year and have learned to not give a crap about what others think about me!
I ACKNOWLEDGE that for the most part that I do not have to be afraid to walk down the street. Of course, danger exists in all cities and potentially on all streets but for me not to the extent that it does for so many (and especially for women; Black, Brown, or White.)
I ACKNOWLEDGE that I do not face discrimination, in action or verbally, because of my skin color or financial status. I have faced some because of being Gay and some because of being Jewish but never like so many others suffer day in and day out.
I ACKNOWLEDGE that I do not need to face stares and hatred in the eyes of others as I walk by them. I am a little old man and most likely am not a threat to anyone.
I ACKNOWLEDGE that I do not have to face discrimination in being served in a restaurant, staying at a hotel, and although being retired now, in being hired for good-paying jobs.
I ACKNOWLEDGE that I had an education, that my parents were able to support my education, and that I was fortunate to have been successful in my career which is providing well for me in my old age. So many without an education cannot get good jobs and do not have the training or background to do well in high paying jobs.
I ACKNOWLEDGE that in the younger years of my life I lived in fear of criticism and bodily harm because I was not mainstream, because I was Gay, but while I resented it, I was able to hide myself away and pass for "straight," while Black and Brown People cannot hide anywhere. While being Gay is much better today then it was when I was growing up, there is still a lot of difficulties out there for the LGBTQ Community but at least progress continues.
I ACKNOWLEDGE that I have a number of Black and Brown Friends but for the most part, they are similar to me in socio-economic measures, and in my mind they think, act, live, and react in the same way I do. In other words, their skin color disappears for me and I perceive them the same as me with the same concerns, worries, joys, and successes. Maybe my perceptions are incorrect but my relationship with and actions towards them are not influenced by skin color!
I ADMIT that when out and about, I often fear and avoid "rough" looking Black and Brown People, but I also fear and avoid "rough" looking White People.
I ADMIT that I fear and avoid homeless Black and Brown People, but I also fear and avoid homeless White People.
I ADMIT that I fear and avoid street people who are unkempt, poorly dressed, and dirty but I also fear and avoid White People who are the same.
I pride myself in acknowledging a homeless person or beggar on the street even if I do not give them any money. I say "Hi," or "How are you doing today?" I do not pass them by as if they do not exist and my acknowledgments usually are appreciated.
When someone approaches me for a handout, if I have the time, I ask if they are hungry and offer to go with them to the nearest fast-food restaurant and buy them lunch or dinner. I wait with them so the employees in the restaurant do not kick them out, tell the person that they can order whatever they want, pay the clerk, and wish the person well before I leave. Unfortunately, sometimes my "being in a hurry" causes me to rush on without recognizing the request for help. In hindsight, I feel bad about my behavior.
Other times, I get a "gut feeling" that the person on the corner, asking for a handout, really is in need and I will hand them a $20.00 bill. My gut tells me that they will not use the money to buy drugs or alcohol, and I might be mistaken but it feels like the right thing to do.
Gregory used to call these street people "Harijans." The use of ‘Harijan’ to refer to Dalits (Indian People of the Untouchables Class) goes back to the 1930s. ‘Harijan’, meaning ‘children of God’, was a term first used by Gandhi to refer to Dalits in 1932. The term has since come into repute but Gregory meant it with love, "Truly a child of God!"
When someone is selling "Streetwise" I give them some money and do not take the paper telling them that I already read that edition. I do not want to undermine their determination to earn a living by just offering charity.
When I see someone else behaving poorly towards Blacks, Browns, Immigrants, Street and/or Poor People, women; I try to defend them, speak up for them, protect them if I can.
I am aware that so many people begging on the streets are mentally ill or physically compromised. So many services for them have closed or are not as available as they should be. Or are out of reach financially for the person. Often the mentally ill are ill enough that they do not know how to seek help.
So what can I do to help make the United States a better place for people who are different in color; or for that matter different in religion, beliefs, ethnicity, race, socio-economic status, sexual preference, and probably so many other classifications? How can I make a difference in helping these classifications go away?
The expression "Black Lives Matter" has always made me wonder about all lives mattering. I, in no way, want to diminish the tragic situation in which so many Black People find themselves but I do value all human life and so many people who are experiencing a tragic life instead of a fulfilled one!
So what can I do? Continue to do what I do, try to be more aware of the needs of others (in my life and strangers on the street,) try to act with kindness, generosity, and compassion. Try to put myself "in their shoes" even if I can only approximate an understanding of the "path they are walking."
Perhaps changing the world happens one person at a time. After all, I am the only one I can be in control of, and for which I can be responsible. Most of all I can hold empathy in my heart for my fellow human beings.
