Children are not affected the way adults can be.  Children have not been around long enough to have preconceived notions.

 

When I was a child I could not really understand how people would would have a bias because they looked different.  In my neighborhood we had friends of Mexican background. I never could figure out how Tommy’s flattop cut haircut would stand up and mine would flop. Their kitchen smelled different than mine when supper was being prepared, but I figured that was due to how much ketchup we used at my house.

 

In sports I saw Ernie Banks on TV hitting home runs for the Chicago Cubs.  There was Minnie Miñoso for the White Sox and many more players such as Carlos May, Don Buford, Walt Williams, Billy Williams on both teams through the decade.  When the Bulls became a Chicago NBA team there were a number of black players.  It was what it was and I thought nothing different.

 

My parents had my siblings and I watching the television news (back then it was much more credible than today and my parents put a TV in the kitchen for the express purpose of watching the news during supper) and we saw marches and riots.  This gave my father the ability to tell us what was happening.  This was my introduction to the racial disparities of society which then and now I consider the total stupidity of society.

 

Martin Luther King Junior gave me a strong direction in life.  Judge a person not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.  As kids we determined who are friends were by the content of their character.  For many of use we all looked kind of geeky as we were kids.  Playing in the sand box we cared more that our sand castle and roads would not be destroyed by our playmates.  Those kids that stepped on our sand castles were not going to be in our inner circle of friends.  It did not matter what they looked like.

 

When I learned that people discriminated based upon skin color as a kid I was angry.  Why should I not want to associate with someone that was different.  When Dr. King made his speech I decided I would work beyond my boundaries and some day be able to make a difference.

 

I have owned both a computer business and a photography business.  I would not discriminate based upon skin color.  If I had an add for an employment position I would talk to all applicants.  I would hire based on the qualifications. In my computer hirings someone once asked my if I had a bias towards Caucasian men, but who showed up and who interview and who got the job on qualifications is the way it worked.

 

In photography I would hire models or trade services for product for promotion and product development.  Race was never a factor.  Some thought it might be as there were times the non Caucasians outnumbered the Caucasians.  For wedding photography there were no biases.  In my career I witnessed a large variety of traditions from all races.

 

We are now at time in society that the corrections that Dr. King desired are now being weaponized.  It seems that if you disagree on topics with some people of a different race you are labeled a racist and a bigot. The late Walter Williams (the teacher and economist, not the right fielder for the White Sox back in the day) once declared when filling in for Rush Limbaugh that he felt we were pretty equal and we were completed in the true mode of integration. But it seems that not all got his message.

 

Today I put this challenge forward.  We all need to say enough is enough.  Be civilized.  Allow for a difference of opinion (yes, I know that difference of opinion in the area of race will exist, I respect that).  Don’t step on anyone’s sandcastle. If someone is about to step on someone ease’s sand castle, help the situation deescalate so the sand castle still stands.  Respect is earned, so go out and earn it. Smile and help.  Let’s work to make this a great country and world.

 

One more note though.  You will lose my respect for you if you go out and take advantage of people.