Please take what I am about to write at face value and know I mean no disrespect to anyone and I love everyone, whether you like me or not. That’s just who I am and I can agree to disagree and still be friends but this is a topic we need to face if we want to get past the current climate in our country.
Our country is in a state of racial unrest. One of the worst times I personally remember. I do not see color, don’t want to and I get defensive when someone tries to make me. Then when I don’t understand and someone says I don’t know what it means to be in that skin color I get a blank stare on my face. True, I only know what it’s like to be in my own skin and I have had my share of troubles myself. All of us are in the skin we are because that is the way God intended it to be for us. Skin color may be different, but underneath that everything else is the same. We were created in God’s image.
My great-grandparents were American Indians. They were treated unjustly and everything was taken away from them. I could, if I so choose, be bitter about it and live in that past. Doing so takes away your freedom and only causes pain and bitterness which is passed down to generation after generation.
I am also a woman and as such, have suffered discrimination in areas such as not being paid the same in positions as the men in the same position, even though I had more education and more experience. It happens and you have to move past it, not dwell on it.
No, I am not saying that we forget the past because doing so means you may be condemned to repeat it. What I am saying is we need to move forward out of the past, not let it be like a shackle around our necks and let it keep us in prison. Constantly being bitter or angry because of the past, keeps you a victim and I do not want to be a victim. It’s like a wound that does not heal. Carrying that chip on your should gets heavier the longer you carry it.
The past is well, the past. It’s over and done with, we can’t change it. So why let it drag us down and keep us prisoners.
When it comes to racial issues, there seems to be a double standard. It’s okay if you’re this race, but not if you’re another. That, in itself furthers division.
I don’t watch a movie and make a point of seeing how many people of one race are in the movie compared to other races, but unbelievably some people do. I have been made to feel uncomfortable when I was the minority even at churches. But I have also felt uncomfortable at those places when in the majority. I have been places where people went overboard to make me feel comfortable when I was the minority, which is just as uncomfortable as the opposite. But I have also been made to feel comfortable and accepted at places where I am the minority. That’s life and we navigate it the best we can and keep moving forward and without making a scene.
It doesn’t matter if I haven’t walked in your shoes. You haven’t walked in mine either and we each have our path we must walk. However, it’s easier if we are lifting each other up instead of tearing each other down.
People have accused Trump of being a racist and I believe he is, however, those same people who say he is, won’t say that our president and others are as well when they do something similar or make a remark. Double standard. My Granny always told me what is good for the goose is good for the gander.
Are some things meant to be racist? Probably so, but venting about it, dwelling on it and continually bringing it to light, won’t change it and only makes the divide grow wider and can make people become bitter.
We are way past the time when we need to quit whining and becoming offended about everything and take the chip off our shoulder. The trouble with that chip is that eventually someone, somewhere is going to try and knock it off.
And we need to quit putting people on pedestals who insist on furthering the divide. All lives matter, not just one color and the position of law enforcement should be respected.
Beyonce’s superbowl performance only adds to the current tension. The superbowl tends to bring people together even if pulling for opposing teams, not divide. And if you look at who liked it, who didn’t, you will again find a racial divide I am sure. In all honesty, I think all performances at the Super Bowl in the last couple of years have been substandard. Regardless of what she wore or they depicted, I am disgusted with the lyrics of the song which has curse words in it and actually to me, degrades women. But that’s just me. If her skin were a different color, then we would have had a lot more backlash and that again is a double standard.
Point being we need to quit looking at the color of a person’s skin, join forces and say “all lives matter” because they do to our Creator. He is not a respecter of persons and certainly doesn’t care what skin color you have, your career or how much money you have. He cares about our hearts and from the looks of the way things are today, many have their heart in the wrong place.

VICTORIA SIMMONS is an author, columnist, motivational speaker, minister and publisher of The Georgia Post/Byron Buzz. Contact her at: vsimmons54@gmail.com