BOXES

Today I celebrate all of you wonderful people who evaluate and accept people on an individual basis. You are a positive blessing in my life. You do not have boxes labeled Black, White, Male, Female, Rich, Poor, etc. and judge people by group.

Because of your goodness and lack of bias you have given me friendship, appreciation, and love from all over the world. How blessed I am to have had friends from Argentina, Mexico, Samoa, Australia, India, Norway, Nigeria, Liberia, Cameroon, South Africa, Lebanon, and more. Because of the goodness of people here in the U.S. I have black friends, white friends, native friends (from several nations). Mexican American friends, Cajun friends and more.

But this would not have been possible if those people judged me by my riches or lack of them and decided against becoming my friends. Color, gender, education, ethnicity are categories used to exclude people from positive consideration by people who categorize first and get to know persons second. Thankfully my friends and loved ones were better than that. Those others who judge by category miss out on so much.

You will hear them say things like these. He’s got a lot of soul for a white man. He sure is articulate for a black man. She sure has a lot of emotional self control for a woman. He is very sensitive for a man. When we hear things like this we know that in somebody’s mind there was a box with a label with a lot of preconceived ideas, in which the assigned person did not fit.

As a wise old man said about it, “People only belong in boxes after they are dead.” I am so rich because I was taught to evaluate individuals by character not ethnic group or color. I am so blessed!

YOU MIGHT WANT TO BREAK UP THOSE BOXES.