Where Did You Learn Your Racial Bias?

I went to my daughter's house last week.  We try not too talk politics.  She had a sign in her front yard that said, "Where did you learn your racial bias?

What a great question!  I was raised in south Georgia near Jeff Davis county in the 1950s.

Could I have learned racial bias from my my mom?  I don't really remember us talking about it.

Maybe I learned it from my teachers in elementary school.  Schools were racially segregated then.

Maybe I learned it in Baptist Sunday School.  We went pretty nearly every Sunday.  We did not have any black people in Sunday School.  We did not have any Methodists either.  I remember that song we used to sing:  Jesus loves the little children
                            All the children of the world
                            Red and yellow black and white
                            They are precious in his sight

Where does all this racial bias come from?  It has been illegal since 1968.  Many people reading this article were not even born then.

Our parents and our teachers  and our Boy Scout leaders and coaches must be the culprits that taught us all this racial bias.

Now our children and grandchildren tell us that they were wrong.

I wonder what else they taught us that was wrong.  My mother taught me to respect the police.  I have never been hit or shot at by a police officer.  I have had plenty of traffic stops.  I have never never never been rude or physical with a police officer.  Only a dummie would do that.  Don't you agree?  Even if you are Chuck Norris or Bruce Lee, you can not whip a cop.  Reinforcements are on the way.  Why try?  The consequences are dire.

I remember studying the Civil War in the fifth grade.  We learned that Robert E. Lee was a great general that was worthy of our respect.  Jefferson Davis'  birthday was a state holiday.  There was no school.  Now I am wondering what else did I learn in school that was debatable but taught to me as fact.  Was General Sherman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman%27s_March_to_the_Sea really as bad as we were told?   Was Col. James Doolittle really a hero?  What about Davy Crockett?

The Government made the "Stars and Bars" part of our state flag when I was a boy

When I was in the third grade, the government changed the Georgia state flag to include the Confederate battle flag.  Everyone in the state was proud to display the "Stars and Bars" on our state flag.  Today NASCAR says displaying the "Stars and Bars" runs contrary to our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans, our competitors and our industry.

Maybe one day the "Stars and Stripes"will get the same treatment.  Who knows?  We learned to stand in respect for the American flag and the national anthem. It was that same group of teachers and parents and coaches and aunts and uncles and preachers that taught us that.   Maybe we should be kneeling or sitting or squatting or texting.   Maybe we should not respect the national anthem but use it as an opportunity to display our displeasure and protest to something else.  Maybe Emily Post didn't really know much either.  Who appointed her queen?

There is lots of new stuff  to learn before I go to meet Saint Peter at the at the Pearly Gate.

How can we know if what we are learning today is correct?  Because today' info comes from an authority figure.  That will not pass the litmus test.  I had never heard the word defund as in Defund the police until I saw a teenager carrying a sign that said defund the police on TV.   I see on the news that the city of Minneapolis' city council has voted to do this.  I also saw on the news that the city council has hired private security to protect them from angry constituents aka as VOTERS.  I don't think their mayor or the city council will need protection after the next election.  They will need a new job.  How do we know who to learn from?  Is mob rule better than the system we have now?  It certainly works faster than petitioning the government.  When the mob decides they want a statue down or a Wendy's removed, it happens fast. 

The city of Washington, D.C. and the city of New York and the city of Orlando has painted the phrase "Black Lives Matter"  on the street in great big letters.  Is there a connotation there that black lives matter more than other lives?  Is there a connotation that only black lives matter?   In forty years will the mayor's grandchildren ask these questions of their parents?  Maybe the mayor's grandson will ask him, Why didn't you paint All Lives Matter on the street?".  There are no eight year olds in my household.  Maybe the kids are asking these questions already.  I just don't know it.  Have you seen the emperor's new clothes?  Maybe Hans Christian Anderson saw something back in the 19th century that we all need to see today. 

I notice in the news that there is a push to take police out of schools to create more racial equality.  Who came up with the brilliant idea of putting police in the schools in the first place?  It was probably the same group that believes we can not trust a teacher to possess a gun in a locked desk drawer.

Maybe we don't need a bunch of new laws.  Maybe we need more love and more thinking and a better attitude.   We certainly don't need anymore looting or burning of other people's property.  We don't need mob rule.  I think spray paint and lighter fluid should be declared a lethal weapon and require a permit to be carried in your backpack.  Pray tell, who would qualify for such a permit?

We are certainly living in trying times.  If there was ever a time when you need to vote and think before you vote, it is 2020.  If you don't vote, you are a big part of the problem.

I respect the police.
I do not need a law to tell me to wear a mask during the Covid crisis or stay at home. 
I don't like mob rule.
I think looting is morally wrong.
I think the American government is the best government in the history of the world.
I think Socialism or Marxism  is not even a close second.
I respect the American flag and the national anthem.
I believe that if you want a statue removed, you can petition the government. That is how prayer got removed from school.   
I love my family
I believe that  David Dorn's life was just as precious as George Floyd's life.
I love the first amendment. You should have the right to free speech. You don't have the right to burn my property or harm me if I disagree with you.
I love law and order.  I am wondering how much we will all be paying for private security in the future.  When you dial 911, will the first question be ," What is your credit card number" ?
God bless America.  

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