Not as I do!

I was accused of being racist yesterday. Let me give you some background before you think too badly of me! We're trying to sell a car, and we received a phone call yesterday from a guy with a very strong regional accent, (Ok he was a scouser), and I made a joke about him needing a new 'get away' vehicle, which prompted the accusation of racism from my eleven year old. He gave me a strict telling off, and reminded me that I was the one who had taught him that everyone is the same. (Yes, I'm very ashamed!) So this led me to thinking; why do we, as human beings, not accept one another for who we are? We all crawled out of the swamp in the same way, (or were all made in the same image, depending on your viewpoint), so why do we feel the need to pick at each others' differences? In a week where a TV presenter was sacked for 'sexist' remarks, and two young girls were sentenced for kicking a guy to death because he was gay, it is very difficult to understand how we have managed to survive as a race this long!

I know that teaching my kids that everyone is the same is probably a very naive thing to do, (and obviously I don't practice what I preach), but I do essentially believe it to be true. Or do I? Is the black kid at school any different from the white one? Of course not. Is the woman with mental health problems any less deserving than the Nuclear Physicist? No.  Is the man committing lewd acts near the childrens' play park any different from the devoted teacher? Of course he is! He should be locked up! (The lewd man, not the teacher...although...). But now am I being descriminatory?  Maybe I am naive. Maybe we are all different, and we should celebrate or persecute these differences depending on our personal tolerences, but it makes me very sad to be bringing my children up in a society where these intolerances can be so extreme as to cost people their lives. Human beings have fought over land, and religion for as long as history has been recorded, and probably even before that, but I wonder if cavemen (and women...don't be sexist!) persecuted each other because of their sexual preferences or because they wore the 'wrong' animal skin, or their skin or hair was a different colour.

Maybe there is no answer.  I probably won't lie awake all night looking for one. I do feel though that in a society where different cultures, beliefs and lifestyles are forced by geography to co-exists, the only way we will survive as a race is by teaching our children that we are all essentially the same, but we don't all have to act or dress or believe the same. A wise man once said we should love our neighbours, and look at ourselves before we pass judgement on others. It's a great philosophy. One I try very hard to live by, but it's easier said than done, isn't it!!