As defined by Webster, Ignorance is:
1. The condition of being ignorant; the lack of knowledge in general, or in relation to a particular subject; the state of being uneducated or uninformed.
2. A willful neglect or refusal to acquire knowledge which one may acquire and it is his duty to have.
A few years ago, I worked in Atlanta after my internship at Emory. After a tough breakup with my fiance and a year of dating all the wrong idiots, I met and fell hard for my current boyfriend. He's black. I'm white. Now, in my small world, this didn't mean much. It wasn't a problem for me, or even something I picked out as a defining characteristic of our relationship. But my own ignorance led me into a trap that would definately help to define the reason why I left Atlanta. I worked with lots of women, who were mostly black. As relationships between myself and some of the staff there developed and you begin to have lunchtime conversation about your lives outside of work, it was discovered that my boyfriend was black. It was also discovered that he was a good looking and successful black man. I'm sure those of you who have either watched enough BET or been in an interracial relationship can guess where this is going. I became black-balled (no pun intended). Who am I to be dating a young, attractive, successful black man? I heard it from everyone, even my boss (who was also black). Once, she said to me "Look at this pretty little white girl, driving a nice car, taking all our men." That's how she described the feelings and thoughts of my coworkers.
Why was this an issue? People who got to know me for being someone who they could talk to, vent to, eat lunch with, share pictures of their kids/ grandkids. These were folks I had a connection with- whom I felt that if I needed something, I could call on them. These were Godly people who told me (during my time of need) that they were praying for me. It's the issue of perception- for them and for me. It felt as though, despite a solid inner moral character, I was seen as a shallow, naive, spoiled, white snob who felt as though she was "entitled". I look back on this time in my life and I appreciate it for making me stronger to my foundation. I appreciate it for teaching me to walk the path less traveled and develop my inner sense of right and wrong. And it was here that I learned that I have a real hatred for ignorance. I mean, seriously, this is Atlanta- the melting pot of the South!
Atlanta, unlike most cities in the South, is progressive and I had a life changing experience while I was there, but my life there became stagnant, without a real happiness or feeling of comfort and my experiences at my old job never helped.
When we learn to appreciate our differences, not just between races, but between religions, genders, cultures, and sexualities, we will prosper both inside and out. When we rebel against our own inner instincts to "judge" and "stereotype", we will prosper both inside and out. It is my belief that if you have a faith that challenges you to become better than YOU and not everyone else, you will prosper both inside and out.
"There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance." -Socrates
Love, Peace, and Chicken Grease,
T.Rax
