Keeping the focus narrow today, folks. I wanted to present some words by James Baldwin (the coolest person to share my third name) and discuss it up close and personal-like.

Baldwin said, "I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain."

I think this is one of the more insightful assessments of hatred, bigotry and prejudice that I’ve seen. To the point that it’s one of the only quotes I’ve ever bothered to memorize (that wasn’t part of a Mitch Hedberg/Chris Rock comedy routine). Very few people on this earth are truly, gleefully hateful, and the very small number of people who are can be classified more or less as sociopaths. But at the heart of most angry discrimination is the fear of feeling intense pain, even if it’s not a conscious fear.

When I talk about wanting to do my best to eradicate racism, sexism, homophobia, I always have to force myself to remember this, because treating all bigots as though they’re monsters merely because of their bigotry (ie, not because of some monstrous act they’ve committed) is not the most productive way to approach the issue. The bigoted and the hateful are fearful people, unable to avoid being ruled by the things that frighten them.

I believe approaching conversations about bigotry and discrimination with this knowledge in mind is vital. When someone who may have had a particular thought about my race (or my country, or my city, or my gender, etc) gets to know me and sees we’re nothing to fear, it is perhaps the most powerful weapon against their own hatred.

We are perfectly justified in being angered by discrimination, but I believe the best method for combating it is to remember that it’s based on fear, that most volatile, dangerous, pathetic but, indeed, natural of human emotions.

Thoughts?

Peace and love,
Justin PBG