one of my only Black teachers in grade school (private conservative Christian) told our class in 5th grade “you know they call us black and white because black and white are opposites but actually we are brown and tan, and brown and tan are almost the same.”

I think about that a lot

I'm not Black. But by listening and using empathy and a creative, divine imagination, I can almost understand what it's like to be Black in America. It starts with me thinking of everyone who isn't me as being very similar to me on a fundamental, human level.

I think this is why doctors treat Black people differently. They see them as less sensitive, less feeling, more accustomed to trauma. Like a whole different creature. It's not intentional, but it's deep in us to see others as exaggeratedly different from ourselves.

It's internalized white supremacy, and a lot of us have it even if we don't want to or don't realize it. I know I do. Billions in the global south suffer and it's harder for me to empathize and motivate myself to care than it is for me when seeing someone similar to me, near me.