Racism is Alive and Well - But We Cannot All Be Blamed - 2024

    If it had happened in the "modern" 100 countries of the world, it would have made major headlines and all of us would be talking about it. But, because we are a simplistic and usually racist, or at minimum biased and self-serving race of humans, most of us have ignored this story. Tragic to begin with, and tragic by our collective ignorance. It did not occur in the United States, nor Canada, nor the Western Hemisphere. It did not happen in Egypt, nor South Africa, nor even Nigeria. It happened in a place, a nation, where most Americans (U.S. citizens) have never heard of, and likely most will never know of, nor want to care about it. Why? We are simplistic. We cannot grasp many things, or give time to many things far from us. Like this place, and these 600 people who were massacred by JNIM terrorists.

    Not knowing all the Muslim extremist groups of the world is not easy, or necessary, for most. I am not asking for people to know JNIM. A pretty vicious group based in the Sahel of Africa, quite central to the continent many of us know so little about. A big part of that is due to race. White, brown, Black, Asians, and others ignore the mostly Blacks of Africa. And other places. White people, the fairer skinned, get more attention, care, empathy, and awareness.

    Six hundred souls of one village were massacred these last few days. We do not talk about it. In circles in Europe, or maybe Canada, or a few academic venues across our fair country and elsewhere may talk about it. I hope.

    Six hundred people should not be viciously eliminated on our planet and no one notice.

    But we are this way. We are simplistic, biased, racist, and... we simply cannot care for all things.

    I understand. But I wish to care.

    Burkina Faso, formerly Upper Volta of my childhood books and maps, and the village of the massacre should be in our hearts, or minds, or tongues.

    But alas, we are racist. Tell me that we are not.