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The last few weeks have seen the tides of media ebb and flow with the rants of Mel Gibson and Oksana. It amazes me how we, as people, look only at the surface and not what’s beneath. For decades, Mr. Gibson has been the idol of many for his work as an actor, director, and producer. Never once did anyone stop to think just who their “favourite man” was or what he was really about.

That is where we all go wrong. We look at the surface, judge the book by it’s cover, or write others off based solely on what we see. How often do you stop to get to know someone? I have to admit that I am guilty of judging as well.

A mate of mine made me realise something recently. Every time she talks about someone, she always has to bring up the race of the person. But, she only does it for people of colour. For example, she told me about three different people that came into her work. All different scenarios. However, she only mentioned the race of one of those people. Why?

To be honest, the answer is simple. It was said best in the film A Time to Kill. “When you look at me, you don’t see just a man. You see a Black man.” Truth is, that is how most everyone thinks. When people look at me, they don’t see a woman; they see colour first. And in that split second, they judge me.

When people looked at Mel Gibson, they saw a great actor and director. Little did we know that he is a wife beater, woman hater, or racists… “allegedly.” One of the sad things about that whole mess is the fact that in a few months, all will be forgotten. Some other celebrity will be the headline and Mel will go back to bringing in money hand over fist at the box office.

It was my hope that one day our society would transcend race and just be people. That may be naive, but I felt we were in a time that it could START to happen. As long as we continue to check ourselves into different boxes, we will remain separate. As long as we say, “I am a White American, I am an African American, I am a Latino American, etc,” we will never just be AMERICAN. As long as we say, “I am English, I am German, I am African,” we will never just be Human.

Don’t get me wrong. There isn’t anything wrong with taking pride in heritage, nationality or even race. At what point do we look beyond the surface and see others as people and not an “other”?

Oy. To. The. Vey.

-Lex