"Doc Sinn Why Do You Focus So Much on Race?"

Respect everyone.  In this blog entry I want to address a question I'm frequently asked.  A week doesn't go by without someone asking me this question.  I am always puzzled by it even though I understand why they are asking.  It does get tiresome though so whenever someone asks me this question from now on I will refer them to this blog.  If you are like me and hear this question often yourself, feel free to refer your inquisitors to this blog as well. 

On the surface the question seems to be a rather simple one:  "Doc Sinn why do you focus so much on race?".  The question is often presented in a non threatening way and appears to come from a place of curiosity and even innocence.  But in reality few questions are more ignorant and more annoying.  Few questions grate the nerves more.  Let me explain why.

For starters, as I have said many times, racism is woven into the fabric of America.  This country was founded on racism and centuries later this country continues to function based on it's tenets.  A day doesn't go by without us seeing or experiencing racism in this country and abroad.  It's literally everywhere.  It's in the workplace.  It's in entertainment.  It's in sports.  It's in politics.  It imbues every aspect of our lives.  It's in our faces every day of our lives.  So the real question is not why do I focus so much on race as much as it is "How can I NOT focus on it?"

But that's not really what makes the question annoying.  What makes the question annoying is that it's very much a rhetorical question.  The answer to why one would focus on race in this country is brutally obvious.  But those who ask the question already know this.  They are not asking because they are curious.  No.  When you ask me "Doc Sinn why do you focus so much on race?" what you are really saying to me is "Doc Sinn I don't like that you are focusing on race.  It makes me feel uncomfortable and I want you to stop talking about it.  I don't want to deal with this so why are you talking about it?  Stop."

Now some of you are saying "That's not true.".  But it is true.  How does one look at a black person(or any person of color) in America and ask that person "Why do you focus on race?".  Knowing how this country was founded.  Seeing how society treats "minorities".  Witnessing the hatred and discrimination people of color experience.  Seeing the constant injustice.  Observing the systemic imbalance that promotes a caste system based on skin color.  Truth be told, the question is almost an affront.  It's almost disrespectful.  It is akin to asking "Why are so focused on that foot on your throat?" or "Why are you focused on that gun to your head?".

I'm sorry was that example extreme?  Tell that to the families of Trayvon Martin.  Or Rekia Boyd.  Or Ayana Stanley.  Or Jordan Davis.  Tell that to families of the young boy who was killed taking out trash.  Or the elderly woman who was accosted by police and thrown onto a highway after a traffic stop.  Or the young black man who was shot in the back.  Or the Mexican brother who was kicked in the face while handcuffed and lying on his stomach.

So while I'm not mad at you, before you ask me "Doc Sinn why do you focus so much on race?" I want you to consider the society we live in.  I want you to consider my people's history in this country.  I want you to think about how America was founded.  I want you think about all the hatred that exists in this country and in this world.  By then you'll have answered your own question.

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