Marc Hoover
Last week was a bloody one for Dallas police officers. A former soldier named Micah Xavier Johnson opened fire on police officers at a Black Lives Matter march in Dallas. The event was peaceful until Johnson fired at police officers from a parking garage. Johnson shot twelve officers and two pedestrians. Unfortunately, five officers didn’t make it home to their families.

The police used a robot to detonate and kill Johnson. Authorities found an arsenal in Johnson’s home and learned that he had retaliated for two police shootings involving black men in Minnesota and Louisiana. Johnson acted on hate when he shot twelve police officers. Based on social media comments, Americans are divided on racial discrimination.

Unfortunately, racism has always existed in America. American Indians, Chinese railroad workers, African-Americans and Japanese-Americans have experienced hate based on their skin color. During WWII, the American government placed innocent Japanese-American citizens into internment camps. So racism is nothing new.

The worst issue with racism is that people cannot discuss it with any civility. Those who try are often unfairly branded as racists. Today, the racist label isn’t one that anyone wants to be known for. So how can we resolve racial issues if we cannot even mention it? And that’s the million dollar question.

Education and tolerance are the only answer. We aren’t born as racists, it’s a behavior we have learned from family, friends and life lessons. We expect people to respect others, but if respect isn’t taught, how can we learn it? If we can teach our children about the evils of racism, then maybe they can learn to become more accepting of those with different skin color, religious beliefs or political views.

Many years ago, when I was in grade school, I learned a valuable lesson about racism from the Sneetches— a popular children’s book written by the late Dr. Seuss.

The story involved two groups of Sneetches, who resembled yellow ostriches. Although similar, they weren’t identical. Of the two groups, only one group had stars branded on their stomachs. Naturally, the ones with stars considered themselves the superior group.

Sneetches with stars didn’t associate with the ones without a star. Society remained this way until an entrepreneur named Sylvester McMonkey McBean came to town. To equal the playing ground, McBean sold stars to the starless Sneetches.

The ones with stars then removed their stars. Eventually, the entire mess played out with McBean walking away with the Sneetches’ money. They soon realized that they were all the same, and it was foolish to despise one another based on physical appearances. The Sneetches all worked their issues out and everyone lived happily ever after.

But, I am a realist. And I know teaching people to respect others outside church or home would probably offend someone. Racism in American has become a crisis. So how do you solve a problem if no one will discuss it? Here’s a better question—will anyone ever attack racism by using common sense?

Marc is a grandparent and longtime resident of Clermont County. Visit his author page at http://www.lifewithgrandpa.com and his blog at http://www.wisegrandpa.com.