Becoming a Better Human

Warning: Controversial word ahead.

I am a substitute teacher at a high school here in town. When school was in, it seemed like at least once or more a day, I would have to tell kids to stop calling each other racist. It felt like a constant and inconceivable battle. I often said, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means (insert laugh over Princess Bride reference).” Over the last month, we have heard that word racism over and over and over again, and my guess is that many of us are tired of hearing about it.

Well, until we talk it through, it will never go away. Maybe if we had dealt with it a long time ago, we would not be here today.

It can feel like such an offensive word, right? I know I would be offended if I were called that, but ideally, I would take it to God and ask Him to reveal anything in me that resembles such a thing, begging for help to be free of those chains. However, here’s what I believe... Though they exist, I don’t think most people are truly racist. However, every single one of us has biases. I’ve learned recently from Jessica Sharp, that’s just how our brains work. There’s a much longer explanation, but the gist of it is that our brains (specifically the amygdala) categorize everything for efficiency. It helps to store memories of events and emotions so that an individual may be able to recognize similar events in the future. Some of those events and emotions can be linked to things that we see or hear (TV, movies, magazines, etc.), what we experience, or conversations that we have. All of those things create biases.

Biases do not make you a bad human. They make you a human with a brain. The important thing is that we don’t act on those biases. Like I said the other day, “Your first thought is what society has conditioned you to think, the second thought defines who you are.” 

Most of us aren’t even aware of what our biases are, so it’s important to get introspective and figure them out.

The other day I listened to a podcast of a conversation between Brené Brown and Austin Channing Brown, and learned a ridiculous amount. Get still, take a deep breath, and let this wisdom from Brené sink in. . .

“I’m here to get it right, not be right. If I have to get it right, I have to listen and learn. If I have to be right, I have to use my niceness and my decency to defend my behavior.”

Read it again if you need to.

I may be a good person (which most of us are). I may be a nice person and do nice things for people, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have some issues to deal with. Austin says, “You may be a good person, but you can be a better person.”  Every single one of us has the capacity to be better. Every. Single. One of us.

Austin also says, “The work of anti-racism is the work of becoming a better human to other humans.”

You might want to read that one again as well.  

There is so much more to unpack here . . . but we can discuss more later.

Let’s work together to become better humans to other humans.

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.” -‭‭John‬ ‭13:34‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Thank you for being here today. If would love to hear from you, and I invite you to be a part of this conversation. Please comment below.  If there is anything I have shared that you believe others can benefit from, please share with as many people as you can. I love making this journey with you.