Why treating others with respect should be part of your self-care routine
Racism is a low IQ activity and you should stay far away from it. True self-care and peace of mind require knowledge of the truth and respect for everyone. Having lived around the world, I can guarantee you that people are people, some are A-holes and some are cool, and of course, you find everything in between and beyond. What a lot of people, especially those who indulge in racism never consider is a world where everybody looks the same. Look at yourself, do you want everybody on planet Earth to look exactly like you? “Well not exactly like me, but only people of my race”. Here is what would happen if you got racism your way and only your race existed. Paradise right? I don’t think so because now that we got the race issue out of the way, it’ll be something else. Now the black-haired people are better, the tall ones are better, the blue-eyed ones are better……until everybody looks exactly the same. But here is my point, I celebrate all the different races, faces, and bodies, it’s what gives life flavor and makes it interesting. Imagine an amusement park with 1 ride, how exciting, I think I pass. I believe we should be grateful for all the variety and beauty we are experiencing and embrace it. If you don’t, you will carry a lie around inside you and it will make you miserable, take you off focus, and affect your well-being and health.
Here is a little experience I went through when I was a little ignorant at times and acted out some racism.
I grew up around different races but never had interactions with any asians. Over the years I got caught up in racism and I fed on stereotypes being made about Asians, like they poison the neighborhood by owning all the liquor stores and owning all the businesses but not caring about the city and stuff like that. So one day I had a very bad day, I didn’t have any weed and I was mad at the world and I somehow fell into a blame the Asians rant inside my head. A yellow cab pulled up next to me and rolled down the window. I look over, ready for some road rage with whoever, the window rolls down, and sure enough, it’s one of them Asians. Now remember, I was a hardcore pothead at that time, out of weed and mad at Asians for some reason and now an Asian kid rolled down the window next to me. “Bro, you got a lighter?”, he said and I looked and the Asian cab driver was sitting in his cab with a bong in his lap asking me for a lighter. But it gets better. “Yeah, I got one”, I replied. “You wanna smoke, get in the car let’s blaze it up!”
Just writing about my little experience of my own racism right now gives me goosebumps. It was like God put this kid in my way to really and I mean really drill that into my head. I mean what are the chances of anybody pulling up to you and inviting you to smoke let alone an Asian kid? I got in the car and it was like I already knew him, like we were friends. Same vibe, the same energy I had felt being around my best friends. We smoked, had some laughs and I got out of the cab as a different person. It’s so much easier to love everybody than to run around with baseless hate in your heart. Don’t waste your time being prejudice, don’t fall for the divide and conquer, and say NO to racism because it’s bad for your health.
Daniel Florian
