"I am not Black...You are not White"

This is an epic and beautiful Rant that is blowing up all over social media. Posted this in a Social Issues thread but just wanted it to stand alone as well. Love you ATS.

I am not Black
I mean, that’s what the world calls me, but it’s not... me
I didn't come out of my mother's womb saying, “Hey everybody, I'm... Black.”
No, I was taught to be black
And you were taught to call me that
Along with whatever you call yourself
It’s just a.... label

See, from birth the world force feeds us these.... labels
And eventually we all swallow them
We digest and accept the labels, never ever doubting them
But there's one problem:
Labels are not you and labels are not me
Labels are just ...labels
But who we truly are is not... skin... deep
See, when I drive my car, no one would ever confuse the car for.... me
Well, when I drive my ....body, why do you confuse me for my... body?
It's.... my ....body....get it? Not me
Let me break it down
See, our bodies are just cars that we operate and drive around
The dealership will call society decided to label mine the "black edition,"
Yours the "Irish" or "White edition"
And with no money down, 0% APR, and no test drive
We were forced to own these cars for the rest of our lives
Forgive me, but I fail to see the logic or pride
In defining myself or judging another by the cars we drive
Because who we truly are is found inside

Listen, I’m not here to tell you how science has concluded that genetically we’re all mixed
And race in the human species doesn't exist
Or how every historian knows that race was invented in the 15th century
To divide people from each other and it has worked perfectly...
No.... I'm not here to lecture
I just want to ask one question
Who would you be if the world never gave you a label?
Never gave you a box to check
Would you be White? Black? Mexican?
Asian? Native American? Middle Eastern? Indian?
No. We would be one; we would be together
No longer living in the error
Of calling human beings Black people or White people
These labels that will forever blind us from seeing a person for who they are
But instead seeing them through the judgmental, prejudicial, artificial filters of who we THINK they are
And when you let an artificial label define yourself
Then, my friend, you have chosen smallness over greatness and minimized your.... self
Confined and divided your .....self from others
And it is an undeniable fact that
When there is division, there will be conflict
And conflict starts wars
There-fore every war has started over labels
It's always us... versus them
So the answer to war, racism, sexism, and every other -ism
Is so simple that every politician has missed it
It’s the labels...
We must rip them off
Isn't it funny how no baby is born racist
Yet, every baby cries when they hear the cries of another
No matter the gender, culture or color
Proving that deep down, we were meant to connect and care for each other
That is our mission, and that it's not my opinion
That is the truth in a world that has sold us fiction
Please listen, labels only distort our vision
Which is why half of those watching this will dismiss it
Or feel resistance and conflicted
But, just remember...
So did the cater-pillar
Before it broke through its shell and became the magnificent butterfly
Well, these labels are our shells and we must do the same thing
So we can finally spread our wings
Human beings were not meant to be slapped with labels like groceries at supermarkets
DNA cannot be regulated by the FDA
We were meant to be free
And only until you remove them all
And stop living and thinking so small
Will we be free to see ourselves and each other for who we....TRULY.... are

www.youtube.com...

This guy is racist. All of the #alllivesmatter crowd are racist. Didn't you see what was said about Dion Sanders when he said this same thing.

Anyone who disagress with a liberal only does it, be user they are racist, sexist, homophobic, and so on.

Until Americans stand up to the left, none of this will stop. To stand up to the left, one has to be ready to be called all sort of names: see Trump, Donald

This is beautiful.

Thank you for posting this.


Thanks,
blend57

a reply to: thinline

We are all humans first and last.
Left - Right - Center --- matters not.

Time to stop killing each other over stupid stupid friggin stupid ideology.

a reply to: thinline

Sorry that's your sad little take away after watching. I suggest watching the video about 127 more times and then, hopefully, you might let go of all of those labels you are spewing.

originally posted by: thinline
This guy is racist. All of the #alllivesmatter crowd are racist. Didn't you see what was said about Dion Sanders when he said this same thing.

Anyone who disagress with a liberal only does it, be user they are racist, sexist, homophobic, and so on.

Until Americans stand up to the left, none of this will stop. To stand up to the left, one has to be ready to be called all sort of names: see Trump, Donald

Racist?

a reply to: HoldMyBeer

Thanks, that rocked, and is so true.

We were raised to walk up to a man/woman and shake there hand and introduce ourselves. Now I know who you are. Pretty simple.

a reply to: HoldMyBeer

It's still important to remember that, even if you don't categorize people in your head in colors, others will. And those others will make the lives of those they deem inferior miserable and we need to acknowledge that.

I guess what might be more accurate than checking a box saying you are "black" or "white" would be checking a box stating what color you are treated like. Because you can erase a black man's color but it won't erase the way he is treated and you can erase a white woman's color but it won't erase her cultural advantages.

So sure, erase the colors. Just don't forget that you are one of the few in the world that did.

a reply to: HoldMyBeer

Yet, every baby cries when they hear the cries of another.

Precisely what's going on and why it will never end. Some things just breed on their own with or without thinking about it.

a reply to: HoldMyBeer

Every politician hasn't "missed" the labels, they exploit it.

By dividing the colors we are simpler to control. And with that control our society, labor, and freedoms can be exploited by those who profit from it.

War is big business, and the division (propaganda) has to accomplish what ever the puppet master wishes.

We are not our bodies? What a strange thing to say.

ok, so its a good video first off, and I agree 100%.
labels given, a black person, is a description. This isn't inherently a good or bad thing, just a descriptive thing (blonde hair, green eyes, etc). The problem is, association of cultural norms within those descriptors.

I dont believe in skintone = culture. thats dumb. I do believe we can choose what culture we identify with and from there can self label ourselves into catagories. choice. muslim, catholic, thug, aristocratic, surfer, etc.

But here is the issue

This video is basically saying race doesn't exist. The people most loudly against this idea are the progressives demanding anyone who says that is inherently racist by trying to diminish the experiences of minorities by saying their label simply is meaningless and dismissive. Its hard to go against someone demanding they be judged based on skin, to demand privilege is a skintone and oppression is the same, to acknowledge and therefore act based on what pigmentation your skin is. if you are white, do not speak over someone black. if you are male, do not speak over a female, if you are cis, do not speak over someone not, etc. the oppression game.

So, thats the issue then..how to bridge the two..noting that some demand we observe labels, while others acknowledge labels are the main divider.

And so, you now have a culture war...the new progressives demanding a hierarchy of labels against the traditional liberals, conservatives, and libertarians demanding we judge based on merit and choice identity.

originally posted by: TheTory
We are not our bodies? What a strange thing to say.

I would have went with "we had no choice in our bodies color" or something to that effect.

a reply to: HoldMyBeer

Excellent! Thanks for posting! So beautiful!

originally posted by: thinline
liberal ... left, left,

This is exactly what he's talking about. "liberal" and "left" are just more labels. So is "progressive".

originally posted by: TheTory
We are not our bodies?

That's right. Our bodies are OURS. We are the entity. Our bodies are just the vehicles.

a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

That's right. Our bodies are OURS. We are the entity. Our bodies are just the vehicles.

Take away his body, his "vehicle", what is left? Not much, and certainly not any entity.

a reply to: HoldMyBeer

Utter drivel, ("I am not Black I mean, that’s what the world calls me, but it’s not... me.")

He's not black until I'm white..........then he's black and Whites owe him.

Ridiculous double standard.

a reply to: TheTory

Are you your foot? Or is your foot yours?
Are you your thumb? Or is your thumb yours?
Are you your liver? Or is your liver yours?

Are you your body? Or is your body yours?

If you don't believe in the entity, the spirit, the soul, that's one thing. But if you do, then that's who we are. These physical trappings are just physical things that belong to us.

Seems like some people don't "get" the message of the OP at all.

Nice thread op.

I agree all life matters, we have only one "race" and that's human.

That said ,ok, we all have cultural differences over earth but in the end we're all the same underneath, skin, arms, legs, blood etc.

a reply to: HoldMyBeer

That was great. Thank you for posting it.

originally posted by: Benevolent Heretic
a reply to: TheTory

Are you your foot? Or is your foot yours?
Are you your thumb? Or is your thumb yours?
Are you your liver? Or is your liver yours?

Are you your body? Or is your body yours?

If you don't believe in the entity, the spirit, the soul, that's one thing. But if you do, then that's who we are. These physical trappings are just physical things that belong to us.

Seems like some people don't "get" the message of the OP at all.

I don't believe in a soul, and I do not see how anyone could. This sounds to me too religious and pseudoscientific for my liking. But I guess one needs myths to explain what one doesn't understand, as has been the case for thousands of years.