Insight of an Outsider

July 08/2016

I have been born an raised in Germany. As a child who had been growing up during hardship times for Germany  I watched this Nazi country step by step making efforts to turn into a democracy. I was eager to experience and learn about foreign countries, their people and the way they live. I have been to the United States to different states about twenty times and everytime I had been overwhelmed by the beauty of the landscape and the friendliness of the people. Never once (except for my last trip) I met  and talked to a black person face to face. Of course I saw black people in the cities, but for me they were the same  like seeing an asian or east indian person. They ..for me..were Americans living in America. But then, with social media, I met a young black lady and over the years I got to know her a little bit (a lovely, brave ,bright and diligent woman) and  through her made the aquaintance ( by internet) with quite a few of her black friends. And suddenly a completely different way of life and thinking opened up to me , as a matter of fact a completely different America . Up to then I had presumed people just live ,according to life standards , next to each other, but there were different neighbourhoods,different churches, different schools and even different universities. And if you looked at pictures, the crowds of people were pure black, seldom you saw a white face. And the presumed superiority of the white communities I found strange and frightening. That black people had to be afraid for their lifes and that of their children just on account of the colour of their skin in a country which called itself the "land of the free"....incomprehensable!

This really got me to thinking about the trouble boiling up right now and where the white people stand in this. There must be enough sensible white people around who would be shocked and full of compassion! 

...And that brings me back to the beginning of my story. America is such a huge country and many states are just not confronted with this problem. For them it is far away like in another land. Therefore they do not think about it,let alone care. 

It really appears that there are two Americas. Will they ever unite?

People will have to learn that if you cut  yourself you bleed the same, black or white.