bigotry?

what makes you paint others with a broad brush? is it fair?

i'm saddened by the fact that i've had numerous encounters as of late where i've witnessed blatant bigotry...and i was spineless every time. i didn't speak up. i did nothing. even worse, i may have even chuckled with the "joke" on the outside while my heart within me was broken.

i'm not sure how to confront it.

if a person is born in a communist country, does it devalue their personhood? do you see him/her as a person...or a "commi?"

what if a person is homeless? do you curse them under your breath or in your mind? wait until later so that you can mock them with your friends? do you avoid their stench at all costs? is your fear rational? have you heard stories about how dangerous they are? do you have a just reason to superimpose that story on every homeless person? would you believe me if i told you from experience that he/she is more afraid of you than you are of him/her?

did you know that no one can steal from you, if you give to them? it doesn't even have to be $, just a conversation will suffice.

what if i told you that if you treated them with human dignity and looked them in the eyes, you could help restore them? would you believe that? or would you choose to believe only the cynical stories?

i'm i naive?

wow...that's a lot of rhetorical questions.

what's always separated our species is our ability to sympathize, or even empathize.

"when we let go of our compassion, we lose claim to whatever divinity we had." -bruce springstein

by the way, i'm not going to be silent next time.