If we say that racism is taught, then it is on us to not just un-teach it, but make sure that it is not a part of the curriculum in the first place.
When a patient comes in for high blood pressure medications, there are two devices that have already failed him or her. The first of which was the system they grew up in.
Barring anything genetic, a person who comes from a family culture that is rooted in personal health is one that will rarely show up to the office with high blood pressure. They may not understand what high blood pressure entails, they may not know the downsides to it, the potential complications, or why they should even be doing their best to maintain a healthy blood pressure in the first place — but it doesn’t matter for them because they are placed in a system that puts them in a position to succeed. They don’t need an understanding of what they are avoiding because they likely will not have to worry about it in the first place. We can call this concept a “preventive measure”, stemming from family systems and/or their societal cultures.
With a systemic failure in this part of the chain, a patient can unknowingly wander into the realm of hypertension. There was no culture around them to prevent this, and there was nothing that developed inherently that told them this was not a path they should be on, or that they were even doing anything negative in the first place. Their preventative measure didn’t hold up, and now they are at a point where they are in danger of accidental harm. It is at this stage that patient education becomes crucial. Prior to prescribing any medications, a doctor may give the patient a chance at manage this condition on their own. By describing its downfalls, its potential complications, and the damage that uncontrolled high blood pressure can do, the patient receives better insight into what it going on with them with a chance to rectify this issue without further intervention. We can call this concept a “counter measure”, and this is the stage where they are told WHY they need to be more careful.
It is when these two measures fall short that the necessity of medications are placed in the hopes of reversing the damage that is being done.
Racism in it of itself is a disease, a plague that has oppressed and murdered far too many lives for far too long. The current movement pushing for justice and immediate change is much needed, but if we truly want to find a long-term solution, we cannot let this momentum fade out within a week or two. It isn’t just justice for police brutality that must be sought, but an entire paradigm shift.
We need to add an approach analogous to how we tackle physical diseases: aiming for prevention rather than recovery.
This first starts in our homes and our societies, our preventative measure. The generations that have grown up within our current systems have been largely doomed from the start. We see time and time again the dichotomy between the purity of children and the social interactions of adults. Racism has never been inherent in anybody, and whether we recognized it or not growing up, who we were around and the lifestyle we grew up in was substantially influential to who we are now.
For us, this means becoming introspective and recognizing our own biases, and then following that up with not just social media posts, but a conscious effort to assure that our siblings, our children, and our communities do not generate those same unconscious prejudice. This means a focus on building a culture predominated on accepting diversity, speaking up against what is wrong, and rewarding those for doing so. This is the most crucial step we can take in our long-term fight against racism. Akin to the health-focused family that rarely will have to worry about high blood pressure, in an ideal world, accomplishing this in our respective communities should produce analogous results.
But this measure is highly subjective and will vary from family to family and community to community, and is therefore not enough. Our counter measure comes into play at this point, and its heart lies in our education. A emphasis on history and the consequences and complications of racial tendencies is a must. Whether this is done with revamped school curriculums, events from local community leaders, efforts from religious centers, or even just education being spread from parent to child; a proper understanding of what is happening, why it is happening, and how we can be better is fundamental to correcting this issue.
There is a movement going on right now, just as there have been movements in the past. Each previous one has provided a step in the right direction and change that cannot be discounted. It has laid the foundation for the America we have today, which has provided opportunity for diversity that was not present 50 years ago. But this is not nearly enough. Our black brothers and sisters have fought alone for far too long, and it is time for the rest of us to step up as well.
From the outside, high blood pressure is essentially unnoticeable. We are in a period of time where an unfortunately large population of people have been blind to the effects of racism in this country. For all that 2020 has thrown at us, it has shone light on the flaws that were trying to hide in shadows of this country. Racism is not only individually prominent, but also systemically, and if we want to make sure that we are protecting the lives of our brothers, sisters, and future generations, we need to be willing to become introspective about our own tendencies.
This means applying both our preventive and counter measures.
This means being willing to admit where we have gone wrong.
This means standing up for what is right even when it is uncomfortable.
There are people in the streets protesting for their lives. As powerful as it may be, it will not last forever. The onus is on us to think about change 10, 20, and 50 years from now. There is incredible momentum, we just need make sure that we continue to channel this energy for the long-run.
Because whether we like it or not, the history books are being written with each passing second.
The question is not simply which side do we want to be on, but also, will we assure that the right story is told?
