You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean, if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.
-- Mohandas K. Gandhi

The main story on the evening news last night was about immigrant boys in gangs who had committed heinous crimes throughout the city. The crimes committed were horrifying and varied, and caused shame and embarrassment among their parents and other people in their community. Meanwhile, other citizens of the city began to clutch their purses even tighter and call their representatives to advise tougher immigration laws.

A few rotten apples don’t bring the whole tree down.

Some of the kids in the neighborhood all wear the same color shirts. They are always huddled up and one guy seems to be preaching or lecturing to the others. They all flock to the same familiar car and disperse like roaches when the light of the police cars come down the street. The neighbors keep their doors locked and windows closed; nobody even sits on their large ornate porches. When the children selling cookie dough and magazines for the annual school fundraisers come around, the people won’t even open the doors, believing these kids are also up to no good.

All the chips in the bag aren’t crumbs.

Your history with the opposite sex has been eventful, yet discouraging. You throw yourself wholeheartedly into your relationships but end up, after each of them, let down, betrayed, and declaring never again to give your heart away. But this one feels different; no silly games, honest conversation, sincere concern for your well-being; this one feels different. But your instincts fooled you before. They all initially felt good, then, just when you’d begun to believe again, they ended sourly and hurtfully. You’re afraid to go there again.

A few monkeys don’t stop no show.

The man running the 7-Eleven looks like Osama. Sure, he’s run that corner store for many, many years, but, these days, you can’t be too sure. Your signature on the petition would be the last one needed to convince your neighbors to stop patronizing his store.

A rotten place on the banana doesn’t make the whole banana bad.

There’ll always be a few who make it tough for the masses. There’ll always be voices louder than the masses, and there’ll always be appalling actions by a few that overshadow the good deeds of the masses. But don’t throw in the towel on the whole bunch. Just because some white people treated black folks unfairly, doesn’t mean all white people are the devil. Just because some African Americans and Latinos hold down the cells in prison, doesn’t mean all of either race are criminals. And just because that person treated you like a dog doesn’t mean everybody will.

Have faith in people and only castigate the individuals who cause the pain and trouble. Don’t let single impressions guide your reactions to all people in the world. None of us are them; we’re only us.

Sadiqqa © 2007