Racism is Not Just About the Blacks and the Whites, It's About Humanity
A brown skin person who steps in, whether in churches, schools or businesses; you can be sure that many eyes will be on them. That's not the issue. And some faces were not pleasant to look upon as they watched the brown skin walk in. It's my personal experience. Secondly, they already assumed the brown skin person does not speak English. They will yell at them thinking that a brown skin will understand them by their yellings and shoutings. I am not just saying this, I experienced it, my wife experienced it too.
This happens thrice: twice at the Airport and once at McDonald. The lady at the counter at the Airport said to her co- worker as I approached the counter; "Let me take care of this Filipino because this will be a disaster." The other one was the guy at Airport checking our paperworks; he asked my daughter to tell me that I needed to show my Passport. The other one is when the Manager of McDonald told my son right in front of me to tell me that my order will take about 15 minutes. And there are more...
I've watched how some of the Hispanics and Asians are treated at the stores or restaurants so badly. By the tone of their voice (waitstaff or people of other tongues), you can tell that the brown skin people are disrespected, I've seen it.
In SOME workplaces, brown skin persons even with expertise, who are highly educated, and have talents will have a slow promotion or nothing at all or they have less salary or perks, and sometimes will have a harsh time climbing up the ladder to the top due to the color of their skin. Sadly, in some religious organizations; the brown skin will have less support or salaries than White and Blacks. When I speak of "brown skin"- not just the Filipinos, Asian but the Hispanics, how much more if they're Arabs.
I was profiled by Cops too. I had to pay 3 traffic tickets for the violations I did not commit. My wife, my children, and (the Lord forgive me for using His name for this), but He was my witness at that time.
Racism is NOT the problem of the color of the skin, it's the issue of the heart. My son experienced it at work, I experienced it, and my other children and friends had experienced such. And people even made fun of me talking trash, and sounding some Chinese language… or mumbling of something that they and I don't even understand. My children experienced such at school too, sometimes, they'd come home crying because they were being teased as Chinese.
We changed the name of our church to International Community Christian Church because during those times; we ministered to Canadian, Blacks, Japanese, Cambodian, Filipinos, and even French speaking people. Naming our church at that time Philippine International Baptist Church did not sound open to all Races, Language, and Tongues. Thus, we made some changes. It's unfortunate and not Biblical to address the church based on the color of the skin of people who worship inside the building.
There's no such thing as "Black Church" "White Church" "Filipino Church" "Hispanic Church", etc. There is ONLY one Church- that is of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Respect and love is the key to reduce and balance the problem of Racism, one person at a time. The best way to start is with your neighbor or co-workers from different ethnic backgrounds or races. Believe it or not, I have more friends on Facebook and other Social Media that are not of my skin color than my fellow Filipinos and Filipino- Americans.
The difference with many Filipinos; they came to America with Education, with Dreams, they are very religious, and most of all- they have their family in mind back home. That being said, are the reasons why they were not out there selling drugs, taking part in heinous crime and doing some illegal activities, and eventually be in conflict with the Cops or Law Enforcers. Unlike the MS13, ANTIFA, and others.
I assumed the Europeans, Hispanic Whites, the Arabs and Muslims, especially the Jews had the tastes of Racism. Therefore, it's not just the Blacks. Or Racism is not just about between Blacks and Whites. The absolute problem in Racism is the problem of the heart which is the sinful heart of man.
Stay Safe, Stay Healthy, Treat Others with Respect and Equality, Learn to Love Other Skin Color,
Ely Roque Sagansay
Minister/Author
#Boklit
