Ignorant:
adjective
- lacking knowledge or awareness in general; uneducated or unsophisticated.
Recently, I have noticed a much more gaping divide in the United States of America. I mean, you would have had to have been living under a rock to not see it. We have been front page news all over the globe in the wake of the senseless and hate driven murder of Mr. George Floyd. May he Rest In Peace and his memory live on and his legacy spearhead change for generations to come. But the division that I have really been shocked by is not the Media Driven and Insinuated “Black Vs. White Vs. Cops”, or even the “Everybody Vs. Racist”. It is the “My Input and opinion is right and if you DONT agree with me you’re a racist, you’re ignorant and wrong” bullshit that I keep seeing and hearing about. Racism is wrong. Period. That’s not what this is about. But what if I told you that racism is the secondary emotion or feeling? Hate is the primary. Disgust and Ill will towards people who are different than us. Hate is the problem here, and it manifest itself in many ways.
I have personally witnessed politics and opinions on the stuff that’s happening in our country tear families apart. Because they disagree. Because we have all been exposed to different life circumstances and events that led us to exactly where we are today. So we have different views. Different inputs, and different feelings towards particular subjects. That’s what makes us unique and that’s what makes us special and beautiful. We have all struggled differently. We have all hurt differently. We have all grown up differently.
One of the things that is particularly troubling to me is the constant clamoring of those who come from a very seemingly well to do, and book knowledge educated back ground and they’re use of the word “Ignorant”. Boy do they like to throw that word around. I believe that it instills in the user of that word some morbid sense of superiority. Now, the way that I have witnessed it used- and upon first glance, one would think that they’re referring to the first portion of the definition- lacking knowledge or awareness in general of a particular subject. But after continuous studying of the word thrower, I believe that they’re actually using it improperly. What they’re actually meaning when they speak their venom, is the second portion: unsophisticated. Less than me. Not as good as I am. And doesn’t that make it hate speech? I mean if we really boil things down and split hairs; are the racial slurs that we have been constantly talked to about really any worse than calling someone with a disability a cripple? Or a Retard? Or someone who is a slower learner Stupid? Or Fat? I mean, if the problem is hate, and we’re summarizing a person’s existence and value into one derogatory word or another- what’s the difference? I will leave you to ponder on that for a moment as we chug along.
Now, let’s couple that idea with this one: is there more than one way to be educated? I believe so. And again, it typically (in my experience) tends to be the “higher More esteemed college and professional types” that like to throw this word around. But is a journeyman iron worker of 40 years not educated? Is a carpenter not educated? Also, is one with very little actual schooling or skill- found on a click box job description check list but who was born into poverty, exposed to drugs, and overcome the addiction to create a life for themselves and others based off of the experiences that life dealt them- isn’t that education? Aren’t: life itself, trauma, consequences, circumstances, and real life experiences in all actuality the worlds best teachers? Asking for a friend…
So why then, does it seem to be those in their Ivory Towers, standing on the sidelines, the talking heads on CNN, FOX News, and etc… the CLEARLY most protected and privileged of us all, why then are they the ones throwing the word ignorant around the most? Because we didn’t go to Yale? Or Princeton? No, it’s because they truly don’t grasp the meaning of the word and how they use it toward people that they view as less than! The very ones throwing it around, are the very ones (in my opinion and experience) with the LEAST AMOUNT of life experience and exposure to life’s actual hard fought elements. So in turn, they just eat up everything that the media and word vomit sources throw at them, because they’re written by liked minded people. End rant there.
But the bottom line here, I think, is that it is very easy to say that one word, or idea is bad, but completely miss out on the way that you’re equally segregating others as you deem fit. If words matter than all words matter, and not just the ones that line up with your Dogma, or political views. You have absolutely no idea what someone has been through. Just because they dropped out of high school, or never even went, does not mean that they’re “Uneducated” or unsophisticated, by any stretch of the imagination. Not all blacks are criminals, not all whites are racist, not all cops are bad! End of fucking story. And just because someone states an opinion that differs from yours, based off of their own exposure and life experiences- it does not make them ignorant. In fact, In my opinion, it is those very ones who like to throw that word around- that are the most ignorant of all. They spent their last unpteen years with their noses buried in books, and only had “one teacher” (school) without ever even getting out into the world and experiencing it with out the rose colored glasses that CNN, FOX, huff post, or snopes has to offer. The media lies because it’s owned, and the people who own it have an agenda. Divide and Conquer. The old white men AND WOMEN in big government who have had their lush all expenses paid lifestyle at the expense of John Q. Taxpayer- the fear us. They fear unity and reform. They want us to disagree and misinterpret each other- black white brown male female, it’s doesn’t matter as long as we’re in conflict with ourselves. Because when we’re fighting amongst ourselves we cannot truly take in the bigger picture of what’s going on behind the curtain. It’s all about the masters that we serve(Killer Mike when he spoke in Atlanta) the master you serve is the master you’ll feed and the master you feed is the master that will consume you. If words matter, all words matter. Don’t judge someone because they’re “uneducated” and call them ignorant just because it stirs up fear or misunderstanding inside of you. If you judge a person based on the education as you say, then you’re discounting the potentially unfortunate circumstances that led him to be this way. Maybe his parents died in a car accident, and he was left to the foster system, molested by a caregiver and took off on his 18th birthday to sell drugs to support himself- but because he sees the world differently than you, is he ignorant? What if that same person is the hardest working money making hustler you’ve ever met. He paints houses now. And details cars. Maybe he’s a rich musician. Is he ignorant? Fuck no. But you’re ignorant for thinking that.
If word matter. All words matter. The problem in and of itself is not “racism” ( that’s what the wizards behind the curtain want you to think) my best friend as a child was black. My best friend I. Georgia when I was 20 was black. We all know people who have a different skin tone than us. Duh. That’s not the problem. The problem is hate, and it is personified through isolated, and sometimes not so isolated instances like George Floyd, but what about when a white guy is killed by a black guy, like my high school friend was? There was no out cry. There was no march. The problem is hatred and the media platforms put these sick sad events right in front of our faces to further divide a country that has so much beautiful potential. Because they’re afraid of you. They’re afraid of us coming together to see their sick bullshit.
If words matter. All words matter. And if you have ever called me ignorant, I just want you to know that you hurt my feelings, but I forgive you. Fact of the matter here, is that I have (I say this humbly) ten times the life experiences that most of these educated folks have. The difference between me and you, is that I just learned from mine.
Ignorance is bliss indeed. Especially when you don’t even know that you’re the ignorant one.
Words matter. All words matter.
If you want to truly help someone, the most important think you can do is listen to them.
I love you all.
We are better than this.