Tony Supreme - What's the difference? lyrics

So, racism. Let's talk about racism. Definition (taken from the Oxford dictionary): The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races. But what does racism mean to you and I? Growing up in Fulham, an area predominantly populated by white people, I witnessed racist acts towards my family from a young age. However, I was too young to understand why one time a firework was thrown through the letter box, neither did I understand why the police never acted when my parents called them. I wasn't sure whether these things were acts of racism as our family was one of two black families on the estate, or whether it was something else. Either way, it all changed as I got older and sought revenge. After a few bloodied mouths and regular disputes, the torment stopped. This is a small issue compared to the years of discrimination and mistreatment minorities have faced over the years. I say minorities because there is always the misconception that racism is only about white vs black. In fact it's much bigger than that even to the point where now white people are also subject to it. It is an issue that is largely talked about but hardly studied, I still don't understand how and why this racist mentality came about. It's strange how we can accept other physical differences such as weight and height but skin colour is an issue? You have probably got to this point and you are now thinking, Tony, what is your point here? Well, my concern is the effect racism has had on our society. Today's racism is a product of the generations before us, these racist thoughts and actions were pa**ed on to kids by their parents and as we all know, children learn by watching. So today is our turn to pa** on a new mentality, the kids are watching us right? I have no issue with other races, but my main concern is the state of my own race. As a black man I am disgusted by the racism I see amongst my people. Light skin vs dark skin. Who is more superior? Well it seems that a dark skinned girl is a**igned certain attributes and personality traits whereas a light skinned girl ('lighty') also has specific traits and behaviours. This would suggest that people act in a certain way because of the tone or shade of their skin, how silly does that sound to you? Sounds ridiculous to me. It is a big problem which is often overlooked, it stretches further than racism, it affects self esteem and identity. Imagine seeing pretty light skinned girls in magazines and music videos getting all of the attention from males and other women, it may make someone question their validity and worth, thus leading them to feel insecure and want lighter skin. This is where the issue of bleaching comes into play. People are made to feel inferior about the colour of their skin, causing them to think bleaching is the best way forward rather than just simply loving themselves. This idea of self hate and racial discrimination comes from further back than may we think. There were many systems in which slave masters would use to discipline their slaves to not only send a message to the individual in question but to also send a warning to be pa**ed on to other slaves old and new. Many of these tactics and their intended results were brought to many people's attention in the form of the Willie Lynch doctrine. Although Willie Lynch himself maybe fictitious this doctrine outlined what was considered common practice among slave masters. This doctrine outlined the best ways to enslave and ensure that black slaves could be dominated mentally and physically for more than 300 years. It emphasises the use of emotions such as "distrust, fear and envy" for control. The doctrine advised slave masters to highlight differences between slaves and to create division through these differences to destroy any chance of unity between slaves. Old vs young Male vs female LIGHT VS DARK and many other differences. However, whether fictional or non fictional, we still see the effects of this concept today. I wouldn't have known to do this research if I hadn't watched the film 'Redemption' which focuses on gang violence in America through the eyes of Stanley 'Tookie' Williams (former leader/founder of the crips, allegedly). My issue lies with our inability to look inwardly and ask ourselves why we treat each other in the way that we do because of differences in colour and shade. Once we start understanding that these thoughts are not necessarily our own and were pa**ed down through generations, we can then figure out how to change things. We struggle enough with institutional racism from the education system down to the criminal justice system, we don't need to continue doing it to ourselves. Our lives are worth more than the colour of our skin and it shouldn't be a defining factor anymore in the way that it is. We are still living in a world which continues to highlight divisions of race. Rather than a headline being 'young black man...' It should read 'young man'. In my opinion, we've become so transfixed on race that we are losing this race and we are in fact taking steps backwards. We cannot expect the world to be rid of racism until we ourselves can change the way we treat each other. Feel free to comment and ask me anything, I don't have all the answers though, this is my take on the world through my eyes. Thank you for reading. Tony Supreme (c) copyright 2014