So we killed them. The group is gone, much to the dismay of some who stood up for their rights. Once again, pictures of dead bodies (relatives of others) with the caption “Dead Nigger Storage,” is not just speech, is not protected everywhere, and certainly not by the rules of Facebook. (Let’s not go into this again, please.)

But, as annoying as that whole situation was, that little blip on the screen is gone.

What was dragging me down when I thought about it was that I wasn’t surprised. And that I knew that not being surprised was the correct response. We can laugh each individual situation off, but the fact is, if you’re a member of any group that isn’t white, straight, male, and Christian (in the States, or in most of the Western world), it is naïve to think that this kind of thing is not occurring on a regular basis everywhere. In different countries, all you have to do is change the names of the groups, as any white, straight, male, Christians teaching in Korea can attest to.

And the thing is, sometimes I give myself comfort by saying that the generation that fought against integration and civil rights is now aged. They’ll die off and be replaced by open-minded youth, and the cycle will replace hate with love.

But, as you could see on that group, the people posting the “Dead Nigger” and “Nigger Facts” pictures were not the elderly, were not the idiot British kids who started the group (it seems like a stupid joke that hateful folks took seriously and ran with), but some American teenagers who really really liked the idea.

I’m reminded at these times that babies, and children, don’t have a racist thought in their brains. They may notice that this person is lighter or darker than them, but if their parents weren’t pointing out, for example, that Koreans didn’t look white or black, then all the five year olds in our neighborhoods wouldn’t know to shout “FOREIGNER!!!” whenever they saw us. (At least I get “Obama” sometimes now.)

So what it comes down to is children. Pre-teens. Adolescents. Youths. As pre-crack Whitney sang once upon a time, we need to teach them well and let them lead the way. If some crackpot adult wants to pretend the Holocaust never occurred, let him sell his horrid wares to the people of his ilk. But it’s very important that those of us with children in our lives, whether it’s relatives, friends, or students, teach the right lessons to the impressionable people around us. We need to set good examples when we’re around those who might follow. The youth do look up to us as figures to emulate, whether or not they should.

So those of you who will eventually have children – and I count myself, probably, among that group – and even those of you who won’t, we need to let them know that there are people out there depraved enough to laugh at dead bodies, but that the response isn’t to give up, to become despondent, to simply become enraged, but to continue spreading the message of tolerance that will, one day, take hold all around the world.

As Akil – who needs to start planning some posts – said to me, the world can be a “fuck-ugly” place, and if we let ourselves wallow in it, we’ll get sucked down into the depths and suffocate. But if we keep loving, and, not to get too hippie on you, but, spreading the love, then perhaps we’ll all have a chance at staying afloat.

To go back to one of Dr. King’s quotes from the other day: “Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

I wouldn’t say that all we need is love, but it’s certainly a good start.

Have a good weekend, and week, folks.

I’m off to The Land of No Facebook (China) for a bit, so my next post will be one week from today.

Akil and Matt, get on that shizz.

Peace and Love,
Justin PBG