King’s dream
not out of our reach“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” - Martin Luther King, 1963 ONLY in a perfect world would all of us heed Martin Luther King's message of more than 30 years ago. Even as we prepare to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, we are constantly bombarded with reminders of how far we have yet to travel on the road to equality.
Here's just one example of backward thinking: "It makes me sick when I see a black man holding a white woman's hand," said a senior Caucasian male, on an outlandish talk show recently. "I just don't like black people," he arrogantly added.
Why would one detest an entire group of people without knowing all individually?
Perhaps the prejudiced male had an unpleasant experience with an African-American, and was therefore biased, I thought.
Negative. The man said he had avoided contact with any and all African-Americans since childhood.
As a result, I assumed that the male, as King feared, judges others by the color of their skin and not by the content of their character. Or that, perhaps, he detests African-Americans because he's a believer of negative stereotypes.
How ridiculous. How unjust. Consider:
One's skin color depends greatly on the amount of the brown pigment, melanin, produced in the skin.
Now, knowing the origins of our skin color, would you agree with my notion that there is a lot more to a person than what can be determined by a collection of skin cells?
IF you answered "no" to the question above, what would you say after the next account, rehashed over and over on TV's cop dramas and "reality" shows:
Imagine you are a store clerk whose motto is, if you are an African-American, you are a thug. (I know. It's an absurd notion, but bear with me on this.)
The dreaded event occurs. A dark-skinned gentleman enters the store. Your nerves go haywire, and you think, "Oh, god. This guy's gonna rob the store. I know it because he has a lot of melanocyte in his skin, which partly has to do with heredity!"
The gentleman continues to browse through the aisles. As he inches toward the cashier stand, you start to feel woozy.
You are suddenly face to face with this patron. You take a deep breath and think, "Oh man, it's true. He does have a lot of melanocyte! Omigosh, he'll rob me for sure!"
The gentleman places a can of juice on the counter, then reaches into his pocket. All the while you're fretting, "A gun! He's gonna pull a gun!"
The gentleman pulls out his wallet, pays for the can of juice, then simply heads out the door.
WHEW! What a theatrical account, huh?
Did you say it was a ridiculous account of the sort usually used to perpetuate stereotypes? Ah, I finally got my point across.
Seriously, one is as ridiculous as this store clerk character when one judges his fellow man on the basis of skin color.
The same goes for the notion of judging individuals for their sexual preference, and other popular prejudices.
"Prejudice" is a word that generations of the past should have ditched along with the word "groovy." And for my generation, I can only hope the majority of us will see the light on color.
Warren Kaneshiro is 19 years old and says he is
fortunate to live in this groovy place where
diversity rules.Rant & Rave is a Tuesday Star-Bulletin feature allowing those 12 to 22 to serve up fresh perspectives. Speak up by fax at 523-8509; by answering machine at 525-8666; snail mail at P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802; or e-mail, features@starbulletin.com
