It’s 2019 and for the life of me I just can’t believe that racism is still an issue the world over. I find it a complete disappointment, heartbreaking and demotivating. Who would have thought some 150 odd years after the abolishment of slavery that we would still find ourselves in a world where people are judged or even valued by the colour of their skin. The thought makes me physically sick.

Whilst we all now that the situation does exist, some of us who live in our middle or upper class bubbles, luckily or not, rarely get exposed to this element of our society. Ignorance is bliss they say. Unfortunately however, it clearly still exists, and on a very large scale I might add. And while we are happy to live in our bubbles and ignore this somewhat uncomfortable and highly charged form of segregation, ignoring it will only provide as a stop gap to any type of solution for a better future.

The subject has recently once more become the headline maker with news media due to it rearing it’s ugly head in the world of football. Well, let’s be honest, it has probably been there all along, however recent high profile incidents have thrust it into the main stream once more. Raheem Sterling, Danny Rose, Moise Kean, Troy Deeney, Callum Hudson Odoi and even Liverpool academy player Rhian Brewster have all been the subject of high profile racial incidents. Most in the past couple of weeks. Racism is like a disease in football, but let’s not think that it just exists here.

Several other sports have been hit by problematic racism issues. And let’s not forget the existent/non existent racial war between white police and black America. In which the body count just keeps building up. It truly is an unbelievable situation. So, surely we must ask ourselves the question, where does all this come from? Well slavery in itself goes back 10,000 years to the times of Mesopotamia when a male slave was worth an orchid of date palms. And a female slave, became a sex slave who was only freed when their master eventually died. (Christ that’s bleak).

But I think racism as we know it today began when the first 19 or so Africans arrived to the English colonies in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619, brought by Dutch traders who had seized them from a captured Spanish slave ship. Thousands and thousands would follow suit over the next 250 years or so to make the slave business one of the biggest of it’s time. As disgusting as that may sound, it just so happens to be the truth. And the one thing we can’t do with history as much as sometimes we may wish to, is make it disappear.

Thankfully slavery was abolished in 1865, making it no longer legal to own slaves. But by that time humanity and its social DNA had been changed forever. And the proof is in the pudding, which shows that in the 150 odd years since, we have not yet managed to reverse all the damage that had been done throughout history.

The way I think of it, and the conclusion that I have come to revolves around that first mother fucker. That very first guy who thought his wealth, education, social stature gave him the power to force some poor, likely ignorant soul into submission and a life of bondage is the cause for every slice of racial nastiness that has come since. I really wish we could find out who that person was, resurrect him just so we can burn him at the stake and send him back to hell once more (if you believe in that kind of thing).

So, now we’ve established the problem, what is the solution? In my eyes it’s pretty simple. EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION. It has to start in schools. I think we can all agree that people are not born racist, so it’s all about the exposure to this racist way of thinking through the formative years of their life. Society needs to be able to counter balance the negative impact of the hate the learn either from home or in their communities.

Learning about racism, in detail and making it as important as say learning your language or math in school is the only way we can perhaps make a generational shift towards a better understanding and a better future. For me this is the only way that things can change in the long term, because they certainly don’t look like they will change any time soon. I also think that Governments need to finally step up and treat it with the amount of detail this situation requires.

In depth across the board marketing to all generations. And, better policing too. Instead of the police being the poster child of racism, why not have them be the absolute deterrent and beaming light of hope against it. We need more intensive punishments for anyone who is found to be a racist. If you can’t teach the racists through education, then let’s whip them into shape, excuse the pun.

I could really go into so much more detail about the subject, but that would probably only succeed in winding me up even further. And the blog here would more so become the rantings of a passionate but unstable man. So, let me end off by saying the following. Each human being is equal, no matter of race, colour or creed. Humanity has a natural tendency towards hate and destruction, let’s forget the hate and start embracing love. Love and RESPECT for one another. We are all just people trying to make the best of what we’ve been given.

Let’s integrate, not segregate.

(YEAH I AM TALKING TO YOU DONALD TRUMP YOU TWAT!)