PREJUDICE, STILL ALIVE AND BABBLING

It is hard to believe that prejudice thrives in 2007, but it does. It is being babbled fervently from the lips of those that you would least expect it from and who would be most embarrassed by it, if they only realized. Make no mistake my friends, prejudice is so underlying and insidious and unfortunately entrenched, people both white and black are uttering it daily. Yes, I said both white and black and in a few short paragraphs, you will know and understand who is doing the babbling and unfortunately, you may possibly hear yourself...babbling.

There is a long standing, prolific lie that the white community has told itself for hundreds of years. Make no mistake however, it is a lie and no matter how many centuries it is told, it will never become the truth. This lie is a Eurocentric, demeaning, disrespectful lie that undermines the true value, respect and self respect for a people.

This enormous lie is the following: the belief that a person of colour would like to be or would somehow prefer to be white. It is a lie, but everyday I hear it uttered over and over again and I cringe. I feel pity and embarrassment for the person's sheer ignorance and I've just finally heard enough.

When a white person decides to have a "nose job" no one ever asks if they are attempting to become Asian or possibly Hispanic. No...they just didn't like their nose. Why would they ever want to be anything other than white...that's not even in the white collective consciousness. But when an African American man has a "nose job", Ah....of course, he is trying to be white. Remember, this is a lie.

When an African American Man's complexion appears lighter....ah...of course, he is trying to be white. Remember, this is a lie and if you still do not realize it is a lie, you are prejudiced, whether you want to believe it or not.

When this African American man, who personified Black youth in America, broke down racial barriers in music, making MTV available to black artists, tells you he has vitiligo, he is only answered back with "ah, no ... you are only trying to be white". The ultimate disrespect. Disrespect not only for this man...but for all people of colour. Yes, I'm talking about Michael Jackson. When you realize how much anguish he must have gone through trying to hold onto his complexion, hiding the increasing loss of melanocytes from the world in fear of this ignorance, it makes me sad. Sad not just for him but for the mass number of people who's ignorance is so obvious. I also feel sad for some members of the African American community who know the truth, who respect themselves, their heritage but publicly disrespect it daily, although inadvertently.

Michael was the most photographed man in the world, and although some noticed a little pancake makeup from time to time, he hid the vitiligo for a decade. He chose hours of makeup work daily with dark makeup to cover the white patches, to avoid being lighter, to hold on to his complexion for as long as possible before the complete onset of Vitiligo took hold. Yet no one chooses to see it that way. They would rather regurgitate an ancient bias, a degrading lie. They choose not to even understand what Vitiligo is or understand its effects, to educate themselves. I am not however having a pity party for Michael Jackson, but rather a moment of respect for a man who people have so frequently disrespected out of prejudice. He has given so much of his talent to the world and who has endured so much with dignity.

By being so eager to disrespect him, you are disrespecting a much larger group of people and possibly even yourself. So to Jay Leno and Cool Katt Williams, to name a couple, and all the others that merely mimic what they have heard, take a good hard look at how deeply rooted your prejudice is. People of colour do not want to be white, never have and never will, not even Michael Jackson.

Logic only.