Today's MOZEN: Nuance

F LoBuono

We usually see racism and bigotry in their most obvious forms like the Ku Klux Klan or the TV character Archie Bunker. You can't miss the racial hatred of the KKK or the blustering bigotry of Archie. They are right there for all to see.

But, there is a more subtle side to these terms. I've written about it before on the blog and call it Nuanced Racism and Bigotry. We are all guilty of it to some degree. These are the little so-called generalities or cliches about race and culture that slip into our every day lives. And, no one of ANY color or ethnicity is immune. It is one of the things that makes us imperfect and, therefore, HUMAN.

Allow me to tell you a story that may illustrate my point. It is true but the names have been changed to protect privacy.

In the summer of 1988, I was producing and directing a documentary of a swimmer, Steve Starke, who planned to swim the Hudson River from Albany to the Statue of Liberty. It was to be a "staged swim", i.e. he would cover a certain distance each day. It was planned to take about five days and draw attention to environmental issues concerning the river. We called it Liberty Swim '88.

One day, as we were nearing Kingston, NY, the captain of the boat we were using as our command center, Don Smith, decided to dock to pick up fuel and supplies. Don was a former Marine and looked every bit the part. In his late 40's, he was burly and wore his hair in the traditional Marine crew cut style. He was direct in giving his commands on his boat. But, he was also affable and fun - a regular guy. We were joined on board by my chief cameraman, Steve McDonaugh, as well as a masseur, Ben Behar, who helped keep the swimmer's body in working order.

As we pulled into port, Don was ready with a plan. While he fueled the boat we would shop for supplies. Don had it all figured out and gave us our marching orders:

McDonaugh, you're an Irishman, you buy the booze.

LoBuono, you're Italian, you buy the food.

Behar, you're a Jew, you hold the money.

In Smith's world, there was no malice intended. It was not said with hate in his heart. It just made perfect sense to HIM. We thought it hysterical and eventually wound up giving his own nickname: The Benevolent Bigot. We did not hate him for it. He was not hateful. But, still, we realized that this was the world view of a LOT of people. And, that's not only sad, it's potentially dangerous.

There are millions of Don Smiths - Nuanced racists and bigots. They don't belong to the KKK. They are not blatant in their racism or bigotry. In fact, most of them don't even see themselves in that light. They BELIEVE in those generalities and, in their minds, don't see the bigger picture and the harm it does by perpetuating stereotypes.

We can avoid this pitfall by AWARENESS. We must open are hearts AND minds to allow for clarity in thinking. We must be AWARE to avoid the stereotypes that we often seen perpetuated by social media today. For example, people refer to the need to avoid cities with large black populations. They would lead you to believe that they are unsafe because of the violence associated with the inner city - i.e. BLACK areas. It may be true that the most dangerous areas ARE so-called black ghettos. This cannot be denied. However, and this is MOST important, it is not because the areas are BLACK, but, rather, that they are POOR. THEN, we have to make the connection between POOR and BLACK and the reasons why they seem to be inseparable. THIS is where the racism and bigotry in our society lies - NOT within the color of a persons skin. This is a critical difference.

When we can distinguish between the two  - POVERTY causes lawlessness - not color or ethnicity - our society will improve. The only time color does matter is when WE make it so by condemning this people simply for their race. And, it STILL happens all of the time. See SYRIAN REFUGEES.

We can make it stop with EVERY thought that becomes action.