It seems to me that so many people around me who are talking about Ferguson are focusing so much on the specifics of the situation. We are screaming hateful things, judging Michael Brown, judging an entire population of people based on the actions of a few. My opinion? Why don’t we stop focusing on the specific event that ignited the unrest, and why don’t we instead focus on the fact that there is a problem, underlying the unrest? It is not my place to judge Michael Brown, Darren Wilson, any of the witnesses or police officers. I can only pray for them. And I have to see that this situation is only one small incident in the huge problem of systemic racism. Instead of screaming hate and judgment and fear, I choose to ask, “What can I do?”

It’s not okay to assume that it is “black” or “white” or right or wrong. In life, there is no absolute truth. There is only gray area. We have to realize that the gray area is where we all need to be. If you can’t understand WHY people are angry and protesting (because after all, it’s just “one bad kid”) then you aren’t in the gray area. If you are lumping the peaceful protesters into the same category as the looters/rioters, you are not in the gray area. If you don’t understand why “’they’ always make it a race thing”, you are not in the gray area.

We have to realize that there is a problem in our society, and it’s not going away unless we change it! We have to stop being willfully ignorant! We have to educate ourselves. We have to learn about the issues with an open mind and open heart. We need to “check our privilege“. We need to acknowledge that the color of a person’s skin truly does determine the shape of a person’s life. We need to stop pretending that racism is not here or that it isn’t “my problem”.

Mostly, we have to simply stop judging… and we have to start loving.