We learn from our mistakes is a well known saying. I would say that my observations are making it seem as though we SELECTIVELY learn from our mistakes. We do so when it fits the goal and narrative we are pursuing. We can be quite insane when the mistake occurred when we were trying to attempt something we truly believe in. Rather than questioning that perhaps our beliefs are flawed, we will try the same thing over and over again. Albert Einstein has a quote attributed to him "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result."

These are pretty wise words. That is likely why you hear people serving up this particular quote so often in many places during this day and age.

Yet do we listen? Do we truly comprehend those words?

My observations would seem to indicate that we do, yet only when it is convenient to the narrative we wish to support or destroy. When it is inconvenient we often completely ignore the wisdom in those words.

Let us consider a few words in the context of this Einstein quote.

• Racism
• Sexism
• Homophobia
• Politics
• Religion
• Clique
• Team
• War
• Drugs
• Terrorism
• Piracy
• Censorship
• Banning

The problems with most of these things tend to boil down to two things. These two things are intolerance (of which hate is a manifestation), and apathy.

Intolerance

You don't have to look far to see intolerance in action. In fact, unless you blind fold yourself and stick ear plugs in your ears it is almost unavoidable. There is more intolerance today than I have seen in my life. I am 46 years old, but intolerance is everywhere. It is in plain sight for events that inspired Black Lives Matter. It is in plain sight within Black Lives Matter itself. It is in plain sight in the words and actions of the Social Justice Warriors (SJW), as it is plain sight within some of their opponents. It is in plain sight with racists. It is in plain sight with homophobic people. It is in plain sight within religion. It is in plain sight within politics.

All of this is insane if you pay heed to the words of Albert Einstein that I quoted earlier. We have a long history. We have a long history of being intolerant and supposedly fighting the intolerant nature of these very things. Yet the outcome is the same in every case. We simply replace one group of people with another and the same intolerance continues. It is very much like we are stuck in a hamster wheel and we believe that by doing the same actions that others have already done we are sure to defeat the *ism THIS TIME.

"You need to quit worrying about the past, this is now!" is something I could easily imagine someone uncomfortable with what I am saying telling me. Yet, I have another well known platitude that is true when combined with such a response. "Those who do not know the past, are doomed to repeat it."

If you've got a gold plated hamster wheel and you really love running in it, then by all means don't concern yourself with the past. If you are certain you are right and that you cannot be wrong then keep running. Occasionally you might even find the piece of cheese that is doled out.

Source: urbantoronto.ca

You cannot defeat racism by being racist. If you are black and feel you are wronged due to your skin color and no one should be able to insult you with the 'N' word, then how do you expect to defeat racism if you choose to single out white people, call them 'White Crackers' and other terms? I happen to be white. I was born that way. Yet I also have a lot of Native American heritage. It was not a choice. I also am not racist. I didn't live in any of the parts of the country where there apparently is 'white privilege' though I know such places exist. Being white did not really afford me extra opportunities where I have lived.

I have however, been at jobs where they would not interview a Caucasian for a position because they had to meet a quota of hiring X percentage of minorities. This meant that in these cases it was not about skill, or ability to do a job. It was about whether they were a minority or not. I understand the thought process. The thought process is that if they were not forced to hire minorities then only white people would be hired. Essentially, because some white people are racists, it is assumed that all white people are racist and you must be protected against their job monopoly due to their racism. There is a word that defines this thought process and assumes that white people will not hire minorities. It is called racism. The solution to racism in this case was to impose racism. Sure you pick a different target, yet it is still racism.

Source: giphy.com

There are also no college scholarships or colleges that I am aware of that are WHITE ONLY. Yet, there are such things for other 'races'. This is an attempt to meet racism with racism. Yet it also assumes that ALL people who are of one race are racist, so we must protect against them. Insanity = answering racism with racism. It will never solve the problem.

This same concept can be applied to other forms of bigotry. You cannot defeat bigotry by being a bigot.

So if their is racism, is bigotry, and other things how do you defeat them? There is no FAST solution that doesn't simply keep us running on the hamster wheel and shifting the bigotry and racism to another target. The only solution I believe WAS having some effect is leading by example, education, and not to emphasize race.

As long as we have the "I am proud to be white", "I am proud to be black", "White Power", "Black Power", etc then how do you truly expect racism to ever end? You are choosing to divide yourself from the concept of HUMAN. To end such things as racism we need to stop viewing ourselves by any race other than the HUMAN RACE. If you want to defeat racism, then you need to stop giving it power. Stop referring to things by color of skin. Stop calling yourself a black man, white man, black woman, white woman, etc. Simply refer to yourself as a man, or a woman. If you want to defeat sexism you can take it further and simply refer to yourself as a human.

Source: giphy.com

There are going to be hate crimes. The perpetrators need to be dealt with on an individual basis. The answer is not to pass laws that impact ALL people that shared a trait with the perpetrator. We need to stop passing laws to go after a group with the idea we'll stop future hate crimes. We simply need to go after the INDIVIDUALS who perpetrate hate crimes. If you attack an entire group for the actions of an individual you simply add to the problem.

No victim, No crime.

Don't criminalize those who have not committed a crime simply due to the actions of individuals.

Apathy

The other side of this that people often will embrace is that of apathy. The "Oh well, nothing I can do about it," or "It doesn't impact me, not my problem" mentality. This can be very dangerous.

Source: giphy.com

Do you think by doing nothing, that anything will change? You need not spread hate, but you can still lead by example, you can still speak up if you think something being proposed is likely a bad idea. You can and should do this even if it has no direct impact on you.

You should oppose laws that grant power over the lives of other people to one or more other people. You should not be able to tell another person how to live as long as they are harming no one. It doesn't matter if there are a billion of you that want that person to live a certain way. If that person is harming no one then that billion does not matter.

Yet when I think of apathy one man and a famous quote always pops into my mind. The name that pops into my mind is Martin Niemöller who was a holocaust survivor and has the following famous quote. It sums up what you should consider when choosing to be apathetic.

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Conclusion

We certainly should consider the Einstein quote and learn that attacking hate with hate will only create more hate and should rethink our approach to how we would address those things we normally would meet with hate. You cannot defeat racism by be racist. You cannot defeat bigotry by being a bigot.

In addition, we must remember that by doing nothing, we change nothing. Apathy is thus, likely not a luxury we can afford either.

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