Racism: why does it still exist?

Dear one, it sounds like you are already doing a lot to change things. True change is in each heart, one heart at a time.

My heart aches for you, ma chere soeur. I too have suffered much racism and alienation. Sadly, the francophone majority here in Quebec has been very insular, and going to French school in my childhood, I felt like an outcast both because of being anglophone and black. Never could feel welcome.

But we need to persevere, keep caring as you beautifully do, keep sharing. Love to you!

Yes, yes, you understand so well! Huge hugs my dear, have a wondrous day.

Thanks for everything you do; it is ignorance, plain and simple.

The superficial way that people live, only surface messages are communicated about human interaction. When faced with truth, these silly distinctions crumbled spontaneously.

I hope you will take a look in the World Heritage Society pod and give your insights.

Please, be peace, and know that you are loved for what you do. I continue to send my blessings from this space.

Blessings always, Sherri

Hi Agnes,

Let me dare to answer your question before reading what you and others said about.

Racism exist because it still exists ignorance. It's all about igorance and hating others, no matter if using the excuse of skin colour, sex, age, culture, creeences…..when I see some one hurting another one I am unable to label it attending these visible differences, I don't believe in them,…are just a superficial way to try to understand the misery caused by ignorance, the root of all suffering.

Hi again dear,

I have already read your post and find it so sad……..

I'm a neighbour of you, closed to the France south border. I am catalan, we are a nation without state under the governtment of Spain. This government pushes us so hard for our culture to desappear that I find myself many times as a foreginer in my own country. Catalunya is mainly open community, wellcoming people from all of the world, and can't understand how others are so closed instead of respecting and loving differences.

I only can say the same I already said in my last comment, it's all about ignorance my friend. I hope little by little they will be able to apretiate you as you deserve, sure you are going to meet soon beautiful beings there.
Remember you have a friend at the Pyrinees next time you came to France. it would be very nice to meet.
XOX

One heart at a time is how it will happen, my grandmother was prejudiced , she was not very well educated and she feared what she did not understand. We adopted a mixed race child, loved as our own, she experienced racialism from both sides. Education, and the pioneers who bridge the differences will gradually erode the ignorance, we are all the same under the skin, we feel, we bleed, we love, we grow, eventually we learn. We as a race have just not learned to love enough yet, where there is love there is no room for fear, and love learns in order to be loving and compassionate, so if you are prejudiced and reading this look within, hunt down the shadow of fear, find love in your heart and grow.
The mongrel is stronger than the pedigree, and will outlast inbreeding.

I would add that unabated conditioning of people's minds in their so called 'education' is also one of the reasons that racism still exist. I was just reading an article about the US presidential polls in which it is claiming that Obama might lose because of the senior whites not voting for him because of the color of his skin.  That's really sad!

hello agnes<

I see racism as symptom of a more general disease  that I call Sick Culture or the Culture of Apartness (See my profile and blog for more details). What I could offer here, other then very much agreeing with Mila about educational conditioning, is that the psuedo-solidarity of “us and them” identity politics seems to appear better for most people than no sense of belonging at all (which seems to most to be the only alternative offered)  and that a socioeconimic system founded on and steeped in competiton certainly offers a fine breeding ground for rasicm, classism, and every other kind of factional identity. In general I think a sustainable cure for such things involves a willingness to  go much  deeper  in terms of diagnosis and prescription than most people are willing to…racism is just on head to a manyheaded dragon, some of the other heads of which (such as capitalism and other, more acceptable forms of exclusive identity-politics) are not thought to be negative at all. this leads to the heart of the dragon never being targeted and so no lasting change ever happening.  {I am begining not to like this dragon metaphore–i probably should have stuck with the disease one–but I think you can see  what I mean…)

anyway, thanks for your post (and for all the comments)

Everyone here has left such beautiful answers I hardly feel worthy to leave any more.

My heart goes out to both of you Agnes and 8, for remaining steadfast in yourself amongst such conditions.

I am French living in the US. Discrimination, hatred, ignorance, etc. runs deep everywhere. If it's not directed towards one group, it's another.
Love and compassion are the only way to help dispel that ignorance. You did that Agnes, with your au-pair. By giving her love, you opened her heart to new possibilities she had not been able to consider before -that white people can be kind. She will never be the same because of you, or I should say, Thanks to you. She will take that knowledge back to her village. It's a ripple effect.

You are beautiful.

Hi Mila, I agree with you about Obama, but let me say something anyone dares to say : the same many people is not going to vote him because of the colour of his skin, many others are going to vote him only for that reason, and I find it crazy the same, don't you? i don't think his colour skin makes him be the worst neither the best.

this is a light-filled discussion, if you give me permission I would like to link it to the God Pod, ok?

Yes, my dear 8, you're right and it is crazy and sad. His skin colour should make no difference at all to his bid for the presidency, only his potential to govern.

Anges I am very much a dreamer, but I don't think I am a wild and crazy dreamer. My friends cross the spectrum of backgrounds and it is because we respect ourselves and each other. We value our hearts; we put our best selves first. Mankind has got to learn again to stop selling ourselves short for a little money and salvage what is great in all of us.

I see the political events in America as insignificant because America is one of the furthest behind in evolution of human systems with its direct correlation of dollars to value. Very little else seems to make the news in the States unfortunately. This is why Obama and Oprah seem like these absolute prodigies and heroes… they bring other topics to the top of the agenda.  But America's narrow minded foreign policies are demonstration of the backward state of that country.

For people who really wish to be harmonious, we will have to connect cross-culturally on our own and perhaps we can teach the others how this is done.

Hey Sherri, I love how well you said it. XOX

:D And I love that you love that! Love you. S