Chapter (7) What do the Black Americans think about the White Americans? Solutions to the Problem of Racism

The Black African American race had entered the USA about 401 years ago as discussed in earlier chapters. These people have tried hard to merge themselves completely into the american mainstream in these 4 centuries.  But despite their hard attempts and support given by quite a few good-hearted whites, who believed in the principles of equality and justice, these attempts of the black community have not been very successful. A clear "division" is visible, especially when incidents like that of the murder of George Floyd at Minneapolis, happen. Suddenly the brotherhood and the good vibes disappear. They are replaced by patterns of thoughts filled with discrimination, which would generate bad vibes, obviously. An air of suspicion gets created between the two communities all of a sudden. The whites start suspecting each and every black citizen, wherever they meet - on the road, in the pub, at a dinner party, in a populated market... everywhere. In this situation, suppose a white man meets a black guy who has been a friend for a long time and even if they have known each other for several years, he would prefer not to shake hands with that black guy, stop being friendly with an age-old friend!! An air of uncertainty gets created, out of nowhere. 

The same thing happens with the blacks, after an incident of the type of murder of Floyd at Minnesota state. The blacks too start suspecting the whites to have a dominating nature - each and every one of them. They start looking at their closest white friends with suspicion which causes discomfort on both sides. They forget about all those good moments that both had spent together, over the years. Under the new circumstances, every white person is a living being who needs to be careful about, because it can hurt you any time, any where - physically, mentally and emotionally. The conditions do become normal later after a couple of months. But again an incidence of racism happens, again things go out of control. We shall discuss the remedies to this problem in the forthcoming chapters. Meanwhile let us look at how the black community in the US, thinks about their white counterparts. 

The black mama (mother) raises her kids trying to make them believe that all people living in their country are born equal and should be treated equally. She makes them learn that the white kids are as brotherly or sisterly to them as what the black kids are. So during nursery days, the beautiful black kid, starts going to the school. There he meets all kinds of other children apart from his black mates. There are the whites, the hispanics, the asians, those from India and Pakistan etc. Now the days of kindergarten are supposed to be the days of maximum fun with so many wonderful angels of God (kids) moving around in the school. Most of them don't even know what they are doing!! They keep getting guided by their teachers of what to do next, almost at every step, when they are in Junior Kindergarten. So there is absolutely no chance that a matter like racism would creep in over there. This makes an KG school, a pure heaven. Children play with each other, love each other and mingle each other quite well. Its a paradise all over the place. 

Then during the primary school days (from Class 1 to 7), the black kids are still unaware of discrimination which is going to enter their lives soon till they reach say class 4 or 5. The white kids till class 5 are also very small to start differentiating between themselves and the black ones. A survey shows that the problem begins in the middle of the year in which they are in class 5. At that time, they are already 10 years or more of age. All their inherent features of face have already started appearing prominently, which includes big nose, big lips and curly hair for the black kid and small or medium sized nose and lips and mostly straight hair for the white caucasian kid. So what happens is that, some white kids go home and ask their mom & dad, why those black kids look quite different from the white kids. Why do they have bigger noses and lips then the white ones? Why are their hair curly? Why is their skin much blacker or browner than theirs? Why have they started growing taller than them all of a sudden? Those wise white parents would answer them in a better manner, which actually all of them should. They would say that the black kids have all the above features like bigger noses and lips, blacker or browner skin and more height compared to the whites because of their different race, as they belong to the african race, which are basically the descendants of the ancient Negroid race. Then they would further go ahead and explain that all they belong to a different race compared to the whites, they should not be treated differently by any standards. Not just they, but all other kids who look different from the whites, shouldn't be treated badly or differently from how they are treating their own white counterparts. All kids should be treated equally by them. Now this, yes this, is a very crucial juncture of a white kids life. If their parents have given them the above advice, which is in fact a very right one, then there is great chance that their kid will grow into a wonderful human being who does not differentiate, who does not discriminate -  based on race or skin color or religion or any thing that creates and sustains discrimination. That kid will get all the huge respect from all quarters of the human society he is living in because he deserves that. He is very likely to live a peaceful life, devoid of any conflict in his future. 

Now at the same crucial juncture as discussed above, i.e. when the white kid asks those very pertinent questions to his/her parents, if either of the parent or say both of them do not provide the answer stated above, then there are huge chances that the kid will develop into a racist person - a scare for the entire human society. The reason why I said either of the parents in the above line is that even a single parent having racist ideas can spoil the mentality, the manner of thinking of the kid entirely. If suppose the father thinks that everyone is equal but the mother thinks that the blacks are definitely inferior or low grade compared to them, then too there are chances that the kid would started getting inflicted by such racist thinking of his mom. Now this kid, who did not get the right kind of training from his mom &/or dad, will grow up and become a person, who loves to differentiate at each and every point in his life. He will keep on insulting the black kids when he is school and later in college. After that in the work place - office or factory - he will continue with the same ugly mindset. Gradually but certainly, this racist frame of mind, will become a large integral part, of his personality. He may continue to grow in his life in terms of finance, all the achievements and all the success. But his mindset will remain the same till the day he will die, which clearly means that every point in his life, now and then, he will feel uncomfortable about any black or any person of color, moving around him. He might also develop other forms of discrimination - based on religion, or based on language spoken etc. This directly means that despite all the success he may have achieved in his life, he will not be leading a peaceful life. It will be full of strains and tensions - mostly created by his own self as he would be constantly feeling that sense of hatred about those whom he thinks inferior or unwanted, whether they are near to him or far away. He is very likely to develop complications - diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney failure, etc. He will die at a premature early age. All this data is not mine. It has been stated and proven in advance researches conducted on human beings having racist mindsets. You can google them and find it yourself. 

So as discussed above, the ugly worm of racism enters the minds of the white kids at a tender age of around 10, the main reason being incorrect or incomplete education given by their parents. Both the words used above - incorrect and incomplete - hold equal importance, dear reader. It is just not enough to provide correct education but it is equally important to provide complete education about racism to the kid, when he/she is growing up. Suppose the parents do not provide an elaborate and a descriptive set of guidelines to their kid, about how to behave with black kids or kids of other color (this guideline is stated in one of the paragraphs above, in this chapter only). Then what happens is that this incomplete, insufficient education can leave certain questions totally unanswered, in the minds of the white kids. They may then attempt to get the answers of those confusing questions from other people - say their colleagues at school, college or a workplace. That colleague of theirs, who knows, would provide a highly racist answer! This can make all the right education given by his parents null & void and he may start thinking in the same highly racist manner as what his colleague had stated him!! All the right inputs about equality and justice, will vaporize into thin air and all the wrong inputs will prevail. Thus, it is very important for the white parents to provide not just correct but complete knowledge about equality to all their kids. 

After the age 10, the mindsets begin to get set. This process continues till age 18 to 20, by when, such mindsets are formed which we can describe as "final mindsets". These mindsets will then prevail throughout their lives. They will keep thinking in the same manner - racist or otherwise - throughout their lives after that. The chances of a total change in mindsets, a paradigm shift, are very remote. Unless they come in touch with some religious guru or some highly influential clergyman or preacher or mentor, their mindsets won't change after 18. 

Conclusively we can say that, this is all about mindsets. If the parents can create the right mindset in their kid, he will grow into a human who respects all, treats every body equally - whether white or black, rich or poor, christian or muslim or jew. Chances are that he will lead a healthy, wealthy, peaceful and a wonderful life. If the parents fail to create the right mindset or deliberately sow the seeds of racism in his mind, then the chances are he will grow into an animal, full of venom and retribution. He will keep searching for opportunities to harm or even kill every one of those whom he considers inferior or lower in social status, compared to his own self. Chances are he will lead a life - full of chaos, conflict, attacks, fights, quarrels - the one there is no peace. He might get rich or become successful due to his personal traits. But he will never live with peace. This will affect his overall health and he will die soon. This all explains how important it is - for all parents - whites and the black ones - to teach their kids about the principles of Equality, Fraternity and Brotherhood, right from a very early age. 

Having discussed about the solutions to the problem of Racism, let us go back to where we were, in the beginning of the chapter, viz.- What the blacks think about the whites in the US. As discussed above, a black mother, like all other mothers in the world, will always try to give the right kind of lessons to her small kids. The kids would be unaware of all the discrimination that's going on with the adults, till the age 10. Once they reach that age, they start experiencing racism from some children as well as some adults too. The black male kid, suppose he goes to a mall with his dad, a certain white man would not allow him to do a thing which he wants to do, because he is black. If this happens with the kid in the presence of his dad, his dad will argue with the white man and the white man may say certain words, which his dad won't like. This can erupt into a huge quarrel in no time. Both the men, of different color, would be arguing, shouting over each other. Meanwhile, the little black kid, would be watching all this, silently. He would start feeling the first pinch of pain. Dozens of questions would start creeping up in his "till-now" undisturbed mind. He would then go back home and ask his dad or mom why they that white man, over there in the mall, treated them so badly. With all the grief he would find his dad getting sad and nervous about his questions. He might find answers like - "He treated us so bad, because we are black and he was white. The whites think they are superior to us and hence we, the blacks, can not do certain things at public places, which the whites can."

The kid, if he is intelligent, would ask further, "Why dad? Is this according to the federal laws?" Upon this he would get an answer - "No, this is not according to any US federal law or not even according to the Constitution of our country." This answer, would then create a rebellious, angry feeling inside him. He would then get involved in a chain of thoughts, while moving to a quiet remote corner. He would spend a lot of time thinking about all these in the next few days. And then he would come to a conclusion - "Tit for Tat. Treat the whites as how they treat You. If a certain white guy is going to treat me so bad, after this, I am going to treat him equally bad or even worse." This is how racism and counter-racism would start. This is how a wonderful, black kid would gradually or suddenly turn into a guy, who is all for counter-racism, but in the wrong way - the violent way. 

Later, when his dad would observe his son, growing into a young man, fiercely against racism and violent at times, the parent has two clear choices in front of him. Either let him grow in the same manner, as he is. Let him be more and more filled with hatred for the whites, by each passing day. Let him grow more and more violent and destructive in the fact of injustice, as he grows bigger and stronger. If the parent decides to adopt this choice - that black young man, is likely to go on the same path and meet the same destiny as what people like Rayshard Brookes, the 27 year old from Atlanta, met with in June 2020. Brookes was shot twice in the back and he met his death because he behaved in a violent fashion against two policemen who tried to arrest him. When asked for putting his hands behind his back, he suddenly became very violent and thrashed both the officers on the spot, as he was a strong man. Then he seized the taser from one of the guys and started fleeing. One of the officers chased him, on whom he fired a shot at the officer from the taser, he had seized earlier. The white police officer then took out his Service gun and fired 3 shots at him, out of which two hit him in the back and he died on the spot. 

In the above incidence, Brookes's only fault, his only crime was that he became violent. In that feat of violence, he did things which were criminal in nature - like attacking officers on-duty, seizing their weapon, firing from that weapon and trying to run away from the spot. So why did he become so violent, all of sudden? As discussed above, the answer again goes back to the lack of sufficient guidance given to him by his father. Had his daddy told him, "Look Son, we are the black community. Some whites consider us as being much inferior to them - financially and mentally. But son, they form a minor portion of the white community. All whites are not like that - all of them are not racists. 80% of them are very good. They would treat us with respect and equality. So despite the fact that we get insulted by some of them, we should not miss to keep our calm. We should not lose our temper at any point. And by no means, we should turn violent... NO, NOT AT ALL...NEVER... because violence is such a dangerous thing which can hurt or even kill any one. All the holy scriptures teach us to be non-violent and never to kill or physically injure any one. So what you should do, is try and forget those few incidences of humiliation, wherein some white guy insults you from nowhere. Just forget such incidents and then see, how beautiful life is, even for a black man...in this country." - Such a message of non-violence would do so much good for that young black guy whose dad and himself gets insulted in the mall or any where else, in the public. He would keep forgetting and forgiving all such minor insults and push-backs as he grows up. These insults will then become a part of his life, the part which he keeps forgetting almost instantaneously. Gradually he will develop a wonderful habit, or say a great trait, in which he would be able to easily ignore and avoid all the flak that keeps coming his way, as easily and as swiftly, as he would wish to. Life would become very easy for him then. There would be no incidence of violence with any body after that, for that black young guy. So basically what was needed, was a correct and complete set of guidelines about how to react while facing racism - from his parent. And that is what made all the difference in his whole life - from being shot dead by a white policeman on an insignificant matter to becoming a seasoned, rich and a successful individual in a society, where the blacks and whites live together. Thus, this education and necessary knowledge about how to counter racism, in all possible forms, without getting violent or mentally disturbed, is highly important to get imparted by the black parents to each and everyone of their children. 

Some families of black men and women have this tendency of thinking about all white people as equally racist or supporting discrimination, which is not the case. Studies show that majority of the families of whites as well as white individuals living as singles, do not endorse any kind of racism at all. 75 to 80% fall in that category. So there is no need for the black families to remain constantly suspicious about all white people or to hate them as a single unwanted unit. They must try and understand who is racist and who is not among the whites that they know. Then they can ignore or avoid those who are racist and continue in a friendly manner with those who are not. Thus a clear line of demarcation between those who are racist and those who are not among their white contacts, is very necessary. This will prevent them from treating all the whites as racists and thus cumulatively add up to the good-will and fraternity between the two communities. 

Most blacks think that the whites have this bad habit of dominating all things and every where they go. Here too they are wrong. All whites are not like that. This is just like saying all humans are not bad. All whites do not start dominating the place, wherever they go. Only few of them have this bad habit, say 10% of them. The rest are normal humans, like you and me, who won't like to bully or harass any one and pass out from all places without trying to unnecessarily dominate over anybody based on their financial prowess. 

Some blacks prefer to call all the black girls cute and beautiful and all white ones as tasteless. Black guys of young as well as middle age prefer to date black girls with big waist size. Majority of white girls do not have waists as big as the black ones. This element makes them tasteless or worthless for some black men. A survey shows that all black men are more attracted towards black women/girls rather than a white/asian/hispanic one. 
The theory of Evolution suggest that males of all species prefer a female of their own kind for dating or sex, rather than going for some other kind. This has been going on for thousands of years. Thus, this choice of the black men for black girls, is very obvious and needs no further explanation. There is no element of racism in that. 

The black community prefer to go to a church or a place of worship which has most blacks as pastors, clergymen and all priests. They would like to listen to holy sermons delivered by a black Father rather than a white one. On God TV, a channel on television, I have witnessed that in the holy sermons of Creflo Dollar, the black minister, 95% public is from the black community. They like the idea of a black Jesus Christ and black Mother Mary. 

The blacks prefer to vote for the Democratic party rather than the Republican Party as they believe that the Dems are more likely to do good for the blacks rather than those from the Republican party. When Barack Obama was chosen as the 44th President of the USA and the 1st President of afro-american origin, the blacks were at the heights of joy and celebration, in November 2008 presidential elections. Most blacks felt broken-hearted after Hilary Clinton, the lady candidate of the Democratic party lost to the Republican party candidate, Donald J. Trump in the November 2016 presidential elections. Most blacks are against the steps taken by President Trump in the last 3 and half years of his presidency - right from his stand on several economic issues, civil rights issues, his decision of not carrying out intensive police reforms after the murder of George Floyd, his decision of opening up the economy after getting intensely hit by the Coronavirus pandemic, etc. Going by the current trend, most blacks are assumed to vote for the Democratic Party candidate for being the next President of the US, Mr. Joe Biden, who was also the Vice-President of the country, when Barack Obama was the President. Thus, a leaning of the black community towards the Democratic party is clearly evident. 

Being the direct descendants of the african blacks, the negro community, black businessmen prefer to do business with Africa more than any other continent, which is also quite obvious and does not require any explanation now, at this point. They prefer companies with black CEOs and black people at their helms.  

Let me clarify that all the points discussed above and in this book are being referred to as the choice of the majority of black people. Choices and selection may vary across different sections of the black people living in different parts of America. My conclusions are general in nature and not specific, which is a point to be noted.   

Finally, let me conclude by stating that the racism can be reduced considerably not just by a change in the mindsets of the Whites about the blacks but also a similar change in the mindsets of the blacks about the white people. They must try and forgive those elements in the white community which have a tendency of insulting the blacks at each and every point in their lives, of hurting them wherever possible and whenever possible. If they can increase their tolerance limits and keep forgetting and forgiving such white people (who form just a very minor part of the white community in the US) there are quite good chances of a peaceful co-existence of the blacks and the whites within the country. Peace, harmony, brotherhood and fraternity can prevail only if the mindsets of all people of the US, the whites and the blacks alike, change and become more friendly towards each other's community, the blacks keep forgetting and forgiving the whites and the whites try their level best to curb those elements which are causing unnecessary racism and hatred towards the blacks. Just 3 words becomes extremely very important here - CHANGE YOUR MINDSET. 

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