My friends and I decided to go have a nice night on the town far from the turmoil filled trap. In Columbus I had heard from many minorities that the city hides a prejudice agenda below the surface but I had a hard time believing such things. In an attempt to mingle with the Short North population I experienced stone cold rejection with no rhyme or reason. Me and some friends attempted to walk inside an establishment: Brothers Bar and Grill( http://www.brothersbar.com/) with a supposed mixed crowd. Dressed business/casual trying to enter a place where the norm seemed to be tank tops, flip flops, shorts, and flat-billed hats I caught a glimpse of that evil that was supposed to have died with the civil rights movement. Me and my friend had hats on so in an attempt to show IDs and enter the bar first thing the bouncer said was no flat-billed hats. Instead of being confrontational i said hey you and my sister go ahead inside I will take the hats back to the parking garage and place them in the car. Not expecting this the bouncer and supposed boss man realized they had not gotten rid of me so easily so attempting to quickly put up another roadblock they decided to tell my friend that his pants were to baggy. It would be one thing if he was wearing cargo pants which can be considered bit baggy for high end club attire but he was wearing straight cut khaki pants so now my confusion led to curiosity. I am not one to jump to conclusions and pull the race card which so many African Americans are happy to do I always assume positive intent. So I said "excuse me sir I have some questions then, because I live close by and would like to patronize your establishment." This seemed to have angered my oppressors. My cool was the most important thing to maintain because so often this form of fire must not be met with fire. It is the hopes of such folk that young black men react in a manner which would allow the to label them " Savage" in front of authorities and institutionalize them. This being a concept I am to aware of I avoid it at all costs. In my eagerness to understand what in my attire had broken the bars dress code the bouncer and boss man made the biggest mistake they failed to give a valid reason as to why I was not granted entry. Their quick response "You attitude is in violation of dress code". This was the straw that broke the camels back. I understood that I had just become a victim of a hate crime. Crimes against humanity are crimes that must never go unpunished. I simply explained to my oppressors that what they did tonight was wrong and that they will answer to their god when the time comes. My friends proceeded to call it like they saw it an act of racism but these two men began to ignore us and allow the wasted youth and lost causes in. People with no sign of self control and borderline public belligerents were allowed entry just to add fuel to the flame that was building inside of us. A completely under dressed and highly inebriated Asian male said to my sister " They not letting us in?" and she replied no you can still get in and that is when this man said the truest statement of last night "Oh its a black thing". His nonchalant statement hit heavily in my soul. He was right and this made me disheartened with the state of society and how we have made it okay to single out and undermine groups of people based on false notions and unexplained hatred.
As I wandered off to find another spot to take my business my friends were still upset at what had just taken place. An older African American saw my frustration and stopped to chat with me. A gentleman named Thomas David said " Brothers is a place that is not welcome to brothers. Don't spend your hard earned money to fund racism take your dollars elsewhere. Brothers Bar is a place that embodies the plight of humanity." His kind words put my mind at ease.
I have spent twenty six years of my life creating an environment in which I am proud to live in. to allow two weak men to shatter this dream I constantly seek to sustain would show weakness in the links of my chain. To these gentleman I simply wish their bloodline to be purified in the form of mixed relatives. The world will soon be a complete melting pot and no bloodline will be solely based on one group of people. It is how things must be due to the lines of love being drawn based on human interaction and not on the basis of ethnicity or origin. I am saddened that in our attempt to enjoy some of the life we have left we still must face the struggle our ancestors faced when attempting to eat or drink in certain businesses not to long ago but everything in the dirt must eventually see light, and every dog has his day. All I ask is that we treat each other as equals and force ourselves to be colorblind regardless of the prescription of our glasses or the solidity of our eyesight. I am a human before anything i just happen to be born with a certain pigment and I do not believe this should determine my life it is simply a fact of life and I should be treated with the same respect as any other man. It is my form of silent revolution that I will not support any establishment in which any race can be denied just on basis of race or false stereotypes and I hope this may inspire you to take up arms in the fight for your cause or silent revolution. Any opposition that makes it to the doorstep of the savage leader is not met with opposition it is met with serious thought in order to understand the deeper meaning. God didn't want me to support those who attempt to institutionalize my people and I thank him for such an opportunity to decide in the face of such an unfortunate event. Until next time keep it LYM.
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