Racism & America

Don’t go kidding yourself when you say you’re not racist.  We are all somewhat racist.  As soon as we meet someone new, we begin discriminating by sizing them up.  And weather we want to admit it or not, from the color of one’s skin, to the way someone wears their hair, their tattoos or lack of, their make-up, their clothes, their shoes . . . we begin making our judgments on appearances alone.  All humans do this; it isn’t just a white people thing, black people, Asian people, Native Americans, we all do it to an extent.  Shit, I’ve even been racist towards people of my own color. 

I have caught myself saying things like, “You won’t see me living in Alabama or Mississippi! Forget those bigoted racist!”  That is a racist statement; it’s a proclamation of intolerance.  Regardless if I’m white and I’m referring to people of my own race, I am targeting an entire two states as being racist.  Have you ever caught yourself doing just that? 

But in reality, not all people who live in the Deep South are racist, and racism isn’t contained in only one area of the country, or within one race of people.  But I am going to take a minute and address white people. 

As a white woman, I do not feel guilty for the behaviors of others.  Nor am I responsible for the actions of other humans throughout history.  But as a human being, in the here and now, I am greatly saddened by the images I see on television, in regards to the treatment of black people by the police. 

I understand, when you say that you have been treated unfairly by the police too.  I have been pulled over by some fat head cops in my time, but I have lived to talk about it.  And I understand that it may not be a problem where you live, therefore you find it hard to comprehend the injustice, yet it screams into our living rooms in the form of video of actions that cannot be defended.  And time and again these so called officers of the peace are cleared of all wrong doing. 

I was singled out once and pulled over by a State Highway patrol woman, who insisted on searching my vehicle because I had a Grateful Dead bumper sticker in the back window of my pickup truck.  It was rainbow colored teddy bears holding hands, and I had no idea that it was a Dead Head thing.  Her words were, “I always find marijuana in cars of Grateful Dead fans.”  From there it only escalated.  I was told by a second little fatheaded cop that “We can do what we want when we want.” 

I removed the sticker from my vehicle when I returned home, but just imagine having black or brown skin.  It cannot be removed.  And if the police are profiling bumper stickers, imagine what they do to people of color.

Why are people upset about a Mexican border wall?  What, you don’t think white people in Canada bring drugs across the border?  Look at the high crime in Ann Arbor and Detroit.  I know of (white) people who use to run up there, from Central Ohio to buy drugs in bulk.  But you don’t see anyone complaining about Canadians.  And you don’t see them executed on the nightly news, by some freighted uneducated quick on the draw cop.  Just face it, statistically we white people are not held suspect in the same manner as those of color.

As one police officer put it, “Regardless of the color of the officer, in the vast majority of those cases of abuse that citizen will be black or brown.  That is what is allowed.”

( www.vox.com/2015/5/28/8661977/race-police-officer )

It’s like a bad cigarette habit that is hard to shake, if the person is black or brown, the police think it’s ok to physically abuse them and their rights. 

The U.S. Constitution guarantees equal rights under the law.  Amendment Fourteen states, “. . . nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of the law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

It is against the law to treat one race of people differently than another.  This is why a Black Lives Matter movement began.  It isn’t that your life doesn’t matter, as a white person, but instead it is a need to focus on why the police feel it is ok to neglect equal and fair treatment of all of the citizens it serves. 

So you see, by supporting Black Lives Matter, you are saying that all lives matter.  Because truthfully it is an issue of authority, and I think that at one time or another in our lives, we have all been victimized by the government in one form or another.   To protect the rights of any individual is to stand in protection of your liberty as well. 

And when we see a football player or an entire football team take a knee during the National Anthem, it is not a disgraceful act, but a privilege that has been celebrated and defended by countless American’s who sacrificed their lives to protect that freedom.  

So before you go flying off the handle over a football player taking a knee in an attempt to bring attention to Black Lives Matter, realize that you are feeding a behavior that is contrary to the U.S. Constitution. 

You are basically labeling yourself as a communist, if you think it’s ok to limit one’s freedom of speech.  Go live in China and tell me how life is without Facebook.  Or go live in North Korea and tell me how it feels to whisper out of fear of some flag waving Korean overhearing you speaking out against Kim Jong-un and turn you in.  Fear makes prisons, and that’s exactly where you will wind up in a communist country if you express an opinion that is not favorable with the government. 

So ask yourself this question, “Do Black Lives Matter?”

It is a yes or no question; it’s that simple.  There are no, “Yes, but(s) . . .”  The word but implies resistance. 

I’ve heard the excuses, “Yeah, but they’re (the football players) doing it at work. They’re getting paid.”  LOL!  I hate to tell you this, but every time you call in work sick, when you’re not sick, you are protesting work.  And some of you receive sick pay, which means you’re getting paid to protest work for the entire day.

Here’s another excuse I hear often, “It makes me sick to my stomach!”  Like what?  Watching Rodney King get beat half to death with billy-clubs, by countless police officers, while he’s on the ground doesn’t make you sick to your stomach?  Oh, but watching some dude take a knee during the National Anthem makes you want to barf.  Hmmm?

“Yeah, but it’s a disgrace,” is the other excuse I have been hearing.  What’s disgraceful is watching countless acts of murder, where the evidence is video tapped, beyond a shadow of a doubt, yet no one (the police) is ever convicted.   That’s just unbelievable and shameful; then we wonder why people refer to American’s as stupid. 

Step back and look at yourself and listen to what you’re saying.  Think!  We have got to change the way we think, because we are headed down a dangerous road as a nation.  We have become very fear driven regardless of political affiliation, and fearful decisions reek with stupidity. 

We live in America – the melting pot, the united, home of the brave.  Not the home of the fearful and divided.  What makes America great is that all the people from all around the world gather here.  We’re like the United Nations of Humans.  It’s not the black race, or the white race, red or yellow, it’s the human race.  You are more than a color.  

Be regal and brave.  Stand up and be counted where there’s injustice!  I don’t know about you, but when I was a little kid, I said I was going to grow up and be Superman, and make a stand against oppression.  So here we are.  The Black Lives Movement is happening for a reason; the scales are tipped, and the basic right of equality is in jeopardy.  It cannot be denied! 

Here in the South, we see Americans clashing over Confederate statutes.  It isn’t the statue, but what the statue represents.  It symbolizes the fight to enslave an entire race of people; black people.

We’re seeing Native America on the rise again defending the water and the land, as a result of environmental racism.    And at the same time, we’re fighting to keep the brown man from the South from crossing our borders.   Face it, there’s a race problem in America, and it’s screaming to be addressed.    You can’t plug your ears and make it go away.  And you cannot say that it is not your problem, because it is, especially if you’re a white American – remember, united we stand, divided we fall.

Freedom isn’t free!  And it isn’t convenient.  The cost is sacrifice, and it’s often in the form of action.  Every day is a battle.  How many years has America had to deal with this issue of racism?  See what I mean Vern?

 

Every day, your freedom, my freedom, our liberties are challenged.   We have to be vigil and participate in the defense of those rights we hold so dearly.  Freedom knows no color, but its enemies do.  Keep that in mind.

Peace ~