A casual blogger. That's the best way to describe what I do. When the muse hits, I sit down, hunt and peck my way through a post, and make a few egregious grammatical mistakes to laugh at the fact I used to be an English teacher. Lately, the muse has been quiet. And then I went to see Straight Out of Compton. Indulge me.
About half way through the movie, my 50 year old bladder needed a trip to the men’s room. As I stood at a pristine, white urinal, something rather obvious dawned on me and stayed with me during the rest of the movie and into the next day - and no, it's not that I have urinary incontinence.
From the moment we are born, we are taught color association. It starts as simple lessons on what adjectives are commonly associated with what colors. But, as I stood in the mens room, I started to wonder if skin color bias is a byproduct of those associations.
When describing inanimate objects - white is clean, black is dirty. White is good, black is evil. White is virtuous and pure, black is wicked and racy. Light of day is safe, the dark of night is dangerous. And worst of all? Opinions. They are far too often viewed through the lens of “black and white”: religion, politics, sex, drugs and yeah, even rock and roll. Something has merit or no merit at all. Someone is right, or they are 100% wrong. Someone is MSNBC or they are Fox. Rarely do we practice moderation or at very least, acceptance, that gray is sometimes ok – and we should, because gray allows healthy debate and ideally change.
Why? Create a black or white square in Photoshop. Now, try and adjust the color – slide your reds, blues, or greens and see what happens. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Now, build a gray square and do the same thing – it easily skews to green, red, blue, or any color in the rainbow. Seems pretty straight forward that moderation and seeing the middle has a chance to open up new ways to look at life instead of living in a world that is merely black and white.
I am certainly not suggesting this is the only reason we have racial tension. And I am certainly not suggesting that seeing things through moderate eyes will cure us of skin color bias. I am merely pointing out that we live in a world where color has connotation. It’s impossible to believe those connotations don’t become labels when it comes to people and their skin color.
I lived in LA during the 90’s. I was there when the spotlight of police brutality was shining its ugly light on Compton and Crenshaw. I think the movie did an excellent job being even handed in their portrayal of what their reality was. LAPD saw “black” and all the labels that came with it seeped up to the front: dirty, bad, evil, wicked, and dangerous. It was simply lost on them that while all white urinals aren’t clean, not all blacks are gang bangers. The truth just didn’t resonate. And yes, I am quite aware that there were black officers on the force who treated the denizens of these neighborhoods with iron fists, but I think there is explanation for that too – just not something I feel needs to be addressed here, unless someone wants to take me to task on that issue.
Since this is not exactly some new concept, where do I see chances for change? First thing we do is admit there is color labeling that impacts how we see skin tone. Second thing we do is stop using extremes to qualify or quantify something. Just cuz you are dressed in white, it doesn’t make you pure. And if black is so dangerous and dirty, then why do certain people insist on driving around in black cars. Oh, right. Because when it works in their favor as a sign of wealth and power, it’s a good thing. (Not a general slam on everyone driving black cars, just an observation on the place black cars play in the world for some). Justification is an amazing thing when something works for or against your favor.
We need to teach our kids to not make assumptions. About anything. Continue to teach them about stranger danger – but stress that there is no one single face to that danger. Someone or something can look friendly and fun, but be anything but that. Common sense dictates that white can be evil and black can be good. Most importantly, we need to teach our kids about acceptance of opposing views. As a friend of mine said about the advertising business years ago during a wardrobe fitting – “if I like the number 5 and they like the number 7, there is NOTHING I can do to make them like 5 more, so, you do your best to agree on 6.”
Acceptance and tolerance does not mean agreement. And I think that’s where we get lost sometimes. For example, I don’t have to agree with your views on religion, but there is no reason you shouldn’t be allowed to follow your own beliefs nor should you be allowed to judge me on mine. No one should push their moral, religious, or political compass on anyone. If people could respect that approach, it’s much easier to see if a friendship or marriage or work relationship can survive. At least you made that decision without giving up your own code or demanding someone else change theirs.
NWA spoke about their reality. As the line in the movie goes “our art is a reflection of our reality.” So, because their art is full of vulgar language and rise to action, does that make it less art than something that is full of hope and flowery inspiration? You don’t have to F**k The Police. But you don’t have the right to tell them they can’t sing about that reality. People stand up and say, no, they shouldn't sing about that because they are insighting violence and challenging authority. Well, fair enough, maybe they are, but it's because you don't agree with them that you have a problem. When someone you might respect challenges authority and cause to action, regardless in what manner, it is seen as fair. We aren't talking about murder or rape or theft. We are talking about artistic expressions of one's reality. And just because you disagree with it, it does not mean it's wrong. Yes, sometimes it's more clear than others when there is abuse of First Amendment rights - but that is not up to us to decide. Only up to us to discuss. The most useful phrase I try to practice – you do you, I’ll do me.
To our parents, teachers, religious leaders, and politicians: avoid teaching labels and start explaining the benefits of gray. Change the way you see the color of inanimate things and challenge the adjectives normally used to describe them and see how quickly you might spot a change in how you view your fellow person.
Excuse me now - I gotta go pee.
Comments