Sunday, November 16, 2008

It's come to this

I was born with these impulses with this body with this mind. I did not choose to be this. No one did. We start out a bundle of rapidly growing cells and somehow we form into beings with ideas and opinions and likes and dislikes. Everyone begins the same and we all end the same. Into the earth recycled energy recycled matter. We are all "borrowing" what makes up what I can touch and know as you.

What a terribly common misconception that one being is better than the other. We as people think we have some sort of knowledge and right that we know how much someone is worth. We look at each other wrapped in these external shells and often enough based on this we Judge. My skin is a pale color because of the amount of melanin in my system. Melanin is a justified reason for name calling, prejudice, hate,violence and death. There are people who feel like strangers in their skin and yearn to be someone else. These people are mutants! Freaks! Who you are attracted to determines you're right to have children and be married. Not to mention if you get to live without being threatened everywhere you turn. Yes, it's all on the outside everything important the places where you should go and what you should get in your life a stranger can decide within two minutes of knowing you. Not even.
No! no no no no no NO.
no
I know that you know and we all know or well some of us know this is not right. We are writing each other off like looking for the peaches without bruises. We are deciding what is right for others while we have no idea how they feel. I know how I feel. I know what is right for me. I know what I need. Or well at least I am learning what I need. I don't know what you need, I don't know what you can do or what you don't want to do. You can tell me and we can help each other get somewhere. For anyone to think that they can examine another with the weakness of eyes and know all these things about them is just plain silly. But we do it all the time! We have these set in notions of right and wrong of class and race and place. We lump the most unique of beings in a large sticky group based on something as trivial as melanin or sometimes things that aren't even a part of them like the heaviness of the pockets and the watches on their wrists. And we form these rules and ideas about everyone that apply to a group as if even two people out of the group were identical. We stick words like "Black" "White" "Poor" Straight" "Gay" "Rich" "Asian" "Jew" "Muslim" "Atheist" Sometimes we'll go even further pick out words that are demeaning and foul "Nigger" "Faggot" like this word can define the immense endless feeling and pain and love and emotion and thought and wonder that makes up a human being. And the funny thing is we are all humans! We all know how much there is to ourselves how can we not realize it is the same for everyone!? Even the basic of titles "Man" and "Woman" come with all these applied ideals and roles that can never fit everyone because well we are not all the same! Physically yes we are all just energy and cells making up tissue making up organs making up systems making up you and me. However there is so much more to being a human. We all know it we just somehow can't apply the way we feel about ourselves to everyone else.

So what do we do? We judge and we hide for fear of being judged. Some of us can not hide because it is the physicality they were born with and they wear it every day and the prejudice and hate that comes with it like a stain on their backs. Why do we do this? Is it fear? Is it our need for acceptance from others to hold the same corrupt belief they do? We need to be accepted by someone so if we shun others we will belong. It's the sick cycle we are stuck in. A circle of hate a circle of judgments a circle of wrong. Will it be this way forever? If no one ever does something it will. So I am. I am not perfect and I make these calls with blind eyes like anyone else. The time has come for change though. I am not better than anyone and if I ever have anything more than another it is by pure luck and nothing more. Be the change you want to see in the world. The change we need to see in the world. Well I will.

I am who I am. I can not change that. I don't want to. I don't have to. Neither do you. Accept everyone for who they are. Love everyone being for the unique beauty that makes us human. Don't let fear rule! Don't let hate rule! Maybe I can make a difference, maybe I can not.
I will try.

3 comments:

I promise you, I'm doing the best I can said...

If we are all made up the same way and our cells are the same, why were we made to think that we are better than others? What makes one more perfect than another? What makes one think they can judge me? Am I a terrible person to want to not be me sometimes? Maybe I don't even want to be a person. Maybe I just want to be. Just there, floating, watching others be brave, make mistakes, love, hate, do things that humans do....I want to be that change in the world like you but how can we be when people judge us for wanting to change things.

I know you can't answer my questions, neither can I. I'll just have to keep wondering and asking them until I get an answer. Your post resonates within me, Tehila.

aneraofsorts said...

To expand, even if there was no hatred we all wouldn't be equal, nor would we be free. Apart from classism, our government completely limits our freedoms. If we're going to get technical, every aspect of government is immoral. If we're all equal, which I think we are, no one person should have any more power than another person. Power, unless justified, is completely immoral. authority for its own sake is inherently unjustified. An example of a legitimate authority is that exerted by an adult to prevent a young child from wandering into traffic. even working for a boss undermines our freedom, workers should have control of their workplace. so yeah, we have a lot to work on. I'll overthrow the government, you kill all the stupid/ignorant people.

convincing dreams said...

Tehila, that actually brought tears to my eyes. That is the most sure of yourself that I have ever read/heard and i'm ecstatic to see that you've "come to this." You don't know how happy it makes me, you really don't. So much love for you and your thoughts.

p.s. so sad i didn't see you this past weekend. absolutely awful.