An Introduction to Article of the Week #2: After Trayvon: As Zimmerman Trial Ends, What's Next

What’s the Difference Between Me and You?

Warning: This post is a little racey…. and yes, pun intended (always).

“...What’s the difference between me and you? What’s the difference between me and you?...” According to rap legend and all around bad-ass Dr. Dre, there’s plenty.

 He documents his case well on his album The Chronic 2001. But really, what are the differences between me and you? There have to be a ton of them right? I mean, come on. How can I even ask that question and expect not to get some sort of Kindergarten Cop answer about the difference between boys and girls? Look around you. There are tons and tons of differences. I’m certainly not like my wife’s last boyfriend, am I? I sure as heck hope I’m not like that teacher I hated when I was in high school! Well, the truth is, YES, I am just like them. In fact, we’re all a few alleles away from being identical (and it would really suck for you to look like me, wouldn't it? Then, how would I get all the ladies? What if all the ladies looked like me. #gross #buzzkill #thisisntfunanymore #makethebadmanstop).

Can you read lips? I hope so!

In all seriousness, though, we SEE differences all around us. From hair and eyes, to skin color and body type. We talk about those differences to describe people. Everyone is different. That doesn't even come close to describing the number of things that make YOU unique, beautiful, and special (ladies, your boyfriend better tell you things like that, because if the sweetest thing you hear about you comes from me then someone -maybe everyone- is doing it wrong). You are you, and there isn't another person on earth that comes close to being you. Not your sister, not your mom, not your brother or your dad, or some random guy you meet in a New York airport at 3:00am on a Sunday morning.... BUT,what if I told you it was, well... not really real? What if I said there was no such thing as race. What if I told you that the way we describe people based on physical characteristics is NOT at all what makes us different or similar? “Mrs. Lamberth… I don’t mean to be rude, but who the heck did you have write this post? Is he drunk, stupid, or just plain-old crazy?” Stick with me, young grasshopper.

We, as humans, have 7 billion other people on this planet to look at and compare ourselves to. We do it all the time. We think people are stronger than us, faster than us, or prettier than us. We think they have a nicer butt, or a flatter stomach, or better hair. We describe people by how they look (on their physical characteristics), and we lump those characteristics into categories. We call those categories RACE. Think about that for a second… that’s a touchy word. If you call someone a racist, things escalate quickly. But, what the heck does it mean? Where did it come from? Why do we use it?

Race is a classification based on physical characteristics. It's how I see you, and how you see me. It has nothing to do with how I view myself or what I stand for. It’s fake, but at the same time, it's very real. Humans created “race” just like they created the airplane, the automobile, homework, historical periods, hash-tags, and the $.99 double cheeseburger, and we did it to make our lives easier. All are useful. WE need them to make things less complicated. It gives us a way to classify people without taking too much time. Take historical periods for example (and no, pervert, that's not what I'm talking about). No one living in the Middle Kingdom of Egypt was like “Yeah, buddy, the Middle Kingdom is the place to be. Someone better get their papyrus ready and write this s**t down, because this is the most awesome thing that’s ever going to happen.” Instead, people just lived their lives, much like we do.

But, if I say the words “Early Colonial Period” or “Classical Era,” most people with a little historical knowledge know what I’m talking about They know how people dressed, what they looked like, and WHERE it was happening, etc. You would never describe a criminal as a Buddhist or a Hindu or a Christian, because you can't see those things. Much the same way that, if I were to describe Mr. Flores to you (the assistant principal of SMHS who is slightly heavy-set, goatee, about 5’8”, “Mexican,” you know who I’m talking about, but you don’t know WHO he is or what he stands for. You see, classifications and categories are good (Can you imagine searching YouTube without hash-tags or categories? What a nightmare!), but they don't tell us how someone feels about themselves. It's just our perception, and throughout time we've used our perception of race to create, and justify, some of the most horrific acts in human history. From slavery, to the Holocaust, to the treatment of the "savages." From excluding people because they are different to enslaving or killing them for the same reason.

In truth, we're all one race. The human race. But, we've let something we created spiral out of control, like a bad weekend in Vegas (i.e. the Hangover). Race plays a part in our history and in our lives, but don't let it dictate yours. Don't let race determine who your friends are, or who you date. Look on the inside. It takes more time, but it's the only way you can truly know WHO someone is, and not just what they are.

As you read, think about the role race plays in your life, and how it has helped shape our country and our world, for better or worse.

Click here to view the article, the questions, and the form for this week!

Racing off,
Markstone