IF YOU ARE SILENT  
                  YOU ARE COMPLICIT

                                      

We have all watched the unrest that has taken place in cities across this country. The majority of people protesting are there for the right reason. They are expressing the hurt, anger and despair of centuries of being brutalized, murdered, and treated like a second class citizen, with no one caring to change. There are three other groups that are at the protests. One is Antifa which is an anti fascist group which tries to incite chaos and anarchy through semi violent means. Bottle throwing and setting fires are some of their tactics. A third group that is at the protest rallys consists of ultra conservatives who want the protests to look bad and therefore make African Americans look bad. They also use bottle throwing and other sources of violence. The fourth group that is there are the opportunists. They are there to protest, but if the opportunity arises they will loot, for they feel the world owes them something. This is the same people that if they find a bag of money, they would keep it. There is no group that this comprises, probably half the people reading this would keep the bag of money.

Just as there was with slavery,  where you were either for slavery or against it, racism has two sides. Either you are racist or you are anti-racist. Being anti racism requires action. When some one uses the N word in front of you, if you do not speak out you are complicit. When someone says that "all (_____)  are bad", fill in the box with one of many stereotypes, and you say nothing, you are complicit. When someone of another race is treated unfairly, and you do nothing, you are complicit. So this brings us to the third group in the racism situation. Those who say I am not a racist, but do nothing when it is expressed in front of them. This is racism by complicity. Almost every  human has prejudices. By learning our own prejudices we can be aware when they pop up and not let them affect our behavior. Racism is not a black problem. It is highly unlikely that those that choose racism as pillar of their moral beliefs will change. So my hope is that those who chose racist behavior, not by actions, but by their silence, will step up. This is the only way this problem will lessen. It is up to you. IF YOU ARE SILENT YOU ARE COMPLICIT.