Jill Cobb-Her amazing words and thoughts. Read and pass on.


Racism the New Cancer

A Story by Jill Cobb

Ok guys…taking a big chance here with this one. It’s an analogy of racism being the same as cancer. It’s more of an article than a story. Edited version is on my website. blonduitionjc.com

Racism the New Cancer          

If we view racism as seriously as a terminal illness such as cancer, would it make a difference? Or have we built up our “immune” systems so strongly, that we can’t see the similarities between racism and cancer?

As an optimist, I believe that by writing this, even if one person is persuaded to make a change after reading this that that one change may lead to another and so on.

To me, racism is as serious as cancer and the similarities can’t be ignored.  Just as cancer stages get more detrimental to our health, so does racism.  The deeper it goes and the more it spreads, the worse our chances of survival become.

Even without a medical degree, we all have a general knowledge and or understanding of what cancer and racism are as defined by society.

  1. Cancer is defined as abnormal cells that divide uncontrollably and destroy body tissue.  We all know what cancer can do to a person, one who was once vibrant and healthy, becomes someone we barely recognize.  Most of us have lost a loved one to cancer and many of us have suffered it first- hand.
  2. Racism is the belief that one race is superior or inferior of the other based on the characteristics and abilities of a specific race.  Currently, we are all battling racism.  Every day, each and every one of us face someone who discriminates against our religious beliefs, political affiliations, our ethnic background and at times, some are as petty as being smart, uneducated, rich, poor, beautiful or ugly.
  3. In my opinion, our “differences” are the same as the “abnormal” cells of cancer; therefore racism is the new cancer. It’s taking the lives of the ones we love, it’s destroying our ability to come together as a country, it’s dividing us and weakening our “immune” systems to the point we can’t fight it off.

Despite all the “progress” we seem to have made, we’ve also created an equal amount of chaos and disruption. We are losing the battle and the prognosis is grim.

We are worse today than yesterday and it seems like just yesterday that racism was confined to a “black and white” issue prevalent only in what people considered to be the uneducated, rural areas of the southern states.  For the intentions of this article, this was when the “cancer” was first diagnosed, Stage 1.

Stage 1-

The hatred of another person was based on the color of their skin.  If you were black you had to obey the white man simply because he was white. I can feel the hatred churning inside me as I write this. Not only were “blacks” considered inferior to the white man, so were women, simply because of their gender.  The “inferior” were made to feel as if they were inadequate based on how they were born.  Human beings who should’ve had the right to make their own choices couldn’t.

Blacks were sold into slavery, and many times were separated from their families and their lives were torn apart. Women weren’t allowed to go to college, get a job or pursue anything outside of the home. Just think of all the intelligent women who could’ve invented, created or written something so brilliantly and we missed out on it.

As the hurt rose inside those who had been abused and controlled, it damaged them just as cancer metastasizes and moves on to further destruction.

Stage 2-

Although if it’s “caught” or “detected” early enough our chances of beating it are much greater; unfortunately, for our society, we didn’t follow our “treatment” plan (aka Equal Rights) and the “cancer” moved on to the next stage.

Over the years, we became influenced by other’s opinions and the negativity interfered with our own progress. The media controlled information and spun stories to shape and or change how we saw others.

Instead of coming together to solve issues, we were pitted against each other, ignoring the warning signs that stereotyping and demeaning others lead to more serious issues and will eventually erode our core value systems.

No one wanted to believe the “cancer” had progressed beyond the first stage. It was unfathomable. Nothing could take down the “United” States of America!  Everyone was in denial, hence the finger pointing and blame game began.  Rather than accepting our role in becoming an “unhealthy” country, we chose to accuse others. It was “their” fault and “we” were the victims.

Unbeknownst to us, the “cancer” was growing inside each and every one of us, whether it was fast in one or slow in another.  No doubt it was getting progressively worse.

And all of us are to blame.  No one had a magic potion to make it disappear.  There wasn’t a regimen to follow, or a simplified guide such as How to Cure Racism for Dummies.

Stage 3-

In this stage, racism is rampant in all states and has spread into almost all areas of our everyday lives. Social media is the catalyst, spreading racism like wildfire, burning bridges with old friends and “unfriending” someone for not agreeing with us.

We’ve stopped shopping at stores or avoiding particular restaurants we once loved because of who or what they support.

It’s taking over our hearts and minds.  Our country and everyone here is being disrespected for one reason or another.  We are all offended by something or someone and lash out.

Stage 4-

Racism rules the world and we have lost focus on keeping our country safe.  Terrorists have taken advantage of us due to our inattention and are killing innocent people.  Lives are being lost every day.  Stupidly arguing over “what” color lives matter, and nothing seems to bring us back to our senses- All lives matter.

It’s disabled us from living a “healthy” life and keeps us “sick” by making us think that when and if someone doesn’t share our beliefs we should “hate” them and cause them harm.  It provokes us to seek revenge, a refusal to forgive and creates a sense of false entitlement and pride.  It causes us to become vain and shallow individuals who believe we are the most superior beings on earth.  Our internal morals are shut down, rendering us without a conscious to feel guilt or remorse for our actions of discriminating, stereotyping and demeaning others.

The values of being a loyal, honest, dependable trust worthy person are diminished and replaced with anger and contempt for those who are different than us.  Tempers get the best of us and Satan is laughing his butt off.  What could be more entertaining than watching Christians fighting Christians, Moms shunning other moms for their choice to either stay at home or work and men killing other men over the color of their uniforms, skin color, or who was armed or unarmed?   Even better is when discrimination runs into our schools causing kids to bully others for being handicapped, too fat, too skinny, too smart, or too much of anything they don’t accept.  It’s really funny to Satan when that child goes home and commits suicide.  It’s hilarious when lives are taken when they could’ve been saved.

Diagnois: Racism, Stage 4

What would you do if you’d just been diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer?  Would you make amends with lost loved ones?  Would you finally accept Jesus Christ as your Savior?

How would you spend what little time you had left on this earth? Being miserable and angry or would you chose to leave this world in a way others would remember as beautiful?

Rx: Take Daily

  1. Be kind to others. Open your hearts and minds to the challenges that each and every one of us is going through.  Understand that the other person you are disagreeing with feels the same way as you, hurt, offended and angered by not being accepted, or made to feel as if they are “wrong” for believing or thinking a certain way.
  2. Implement the Ten Commandments into your daily regimen as they are vitamins to your soul.  (“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” “Judge not, yet ye be judged.”)

Warning: *Side-effects may include happiness associated with being a better person, euphoria from uniting the human race, and peaceful feelings of being loved and accepted may occur when taken properly.

 

Category : activism and peace work, poetry
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