Flying a bit concerned

Mark Cruz

I pride myself on being open-minded. Generally I think I do a good job of listening (or reading on social media) people's words without getting too offended. But lately I have seen things that are making me question my disposition. I know that silence does not mean consent. I mean, there are comments that just do not warrant a response from me. Like the reply-all thing. I simply delete.

I am now wondering that if I should go all out ballistic on some folks. Not all, just a few. Okay, maybe just two. I am not sure it would do any good. It is difficult to change the minds of those who only want to look at things from the ivory tower. I tried looking at things from their vantage point and I still don't get it. Every time I see/hear someone say she/he wants to take his/her country back I cringe. I want to reply that the only people should be talking about taking their country back at the Native Americans (I hope that is still how I should call them, if not please accept my apology).

How did we get here? Actually, I know how we got here. I am more curious about why we are still here. Haven't we all proved our worth? I am speaking as a person of color. What more do we have to do to prove that we are valuable members of the universe?  George Washington Carver and peanut butter should have been enough. But there are countless others. Sarah Goode invented a folding cabinet bed, George Crum created crisp chips (potato chips), Granville T. Woods invented the multiplex telegraph, and it allowed dispatchers and engineers at various stations to communicate with moving trains via telegraph, and Elijah McCoy invented the automatic oil cup. The list goes on. Oh, let's not forget about Dr. Charles Drew the renowned surgeon and pioneer in the preservation of life-saving blood plasma. And then there are those who every single day of their lives strive to make the world a better place for all of us.

I just don't get it. How can anyone think that skin color makes you better or worse than someone else? Or that what is between our legs allows us to dominate others? What happened to mutual respect? What happened to just being kind?