Race or Integrity First
Posted: Tuesday, July 1, 2003

by Ayinde

Some people choose to associate on the basis of material wealth (insecurity); others associate because of social poverty and its related insecurities which helps drive a type of artificial racial bonding. Some choose to align themselves in other ways.

I call the bonding solely on the basis of race an artificial one because the same people often look for special characteristics in people when choosing friends. Many Blacks will not align themselves with Black bandits the same as many Whites will not align themselves with White rapists. So it is not as if every White person will accept other Whites and every Black will accept other Blacks. It all comes down to character and awareness, which can be discerned through reasoning and the observation of conduct.

These race associations and discussions allow us to examine racism and its effects. It is also a guide to the psychological/historical experiences of people. It allows all sides to check their conduct and to make necessary corrections.

There is no such thing as a pure race. For something to be pure then it has to be stable and cannot be changed. Given the fact that all people evolved from a common family then it is easy to see that there is no pure race as racial features can change.

This explanation is not to discount the effects of early European pseudo science that tried to impute such. The effects of this ignorance are real and have done great damage to all sides.

But I make this point to emphasize that the underlying reason for addressing racial issues is to discern the character of people. It is also to open doors for revisiting a wider span of World history with its common African human beginnings. This facilitates forging alliances with people who are committed to stamping out racism and its effects while offering redress where applicable.

In this exercise, some will choose to focus on helping Black people or White people and some can deal with racism within a broader social network.

For example, I have good relations with many Africans, Indians and a few Whites. I address this issue from all these cultural viewpoints as they are all deeply connected.

I have experienced racism from Whites and Indians and I have experienced the effects of the African ignorance in very brutal ways. All of this did not make me hate humanity, it taught me to refine and define how I align myself with people. It sharpened discerning skills.

I deal with people on the basis of their character first. Assessing character is a very dynamic thing and it is for this purpose I engage much reasoning and observations before I choose to call someone a friend.

A person with integrity may not have much information but they remain receptive to acting on truths as they realize them. They are always willing to evaluate and change their conduct. For me, this is very important. A person's willingness to learn and adjust is far more important than how much they actually know, and this takes precedence over racial considerations.

It will take integrity to defeat not only racism but also all other forms of negative discrimination.

Reasoning on Race or Integrity First 

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