Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Racism: Dead or Alive?



I had an idea of what I was going to muse about today. But over this past weekend, things so upsetting happened close to my area. It really is nothing new to us but proves that nothing has truly changed with our underlying racial tensions and even hostilities. A senseless shooting of the powerless by the powerful. The silencing of a member of a minority group by the member of the majority. A community in pain, grieving and unrest once again. A backlash of violence, looting and rage by members of a minority that has had enough.

The Tragedy

The sad incident that caused all of this was the fatal shooting of an unarmed, 18 year old boy in Ferguson, Missouri. Named Michael Brown, he was Black. I saw the tragic image of his devastated mom on TV, as she lashed out: "You took away my son! Do you not know that half of those in our community do not graduate from high school?! My son had just graduated from high school! Do you not know how hard it was for me to keep him in school?! But you have taken it all away!" The mom of another Black son, who also was killed in a similar fashion earlier, had come out to support this family in their pain. She had said: "We know how this family feels. We just want justice for Michael Brown." The cop who had shot the teen had his own version of the story, of course. According to him, he was responding to a physical altercation" that occurred between him and Michael Brown. "He was trying to get my gun" he claimed. The fear is that, as Law Enforcement Officers (LEO's) are known to be close knit, even to a fault via the "old boy's network." Yet it is said that an investigation is ongoing, and the LEO in on administrative leave. But despite the earnest calls of Michael Brown's family and his Pastor to let peace and calm reflection prevail, it did not. Soon Black young people began looting the local Quik Trip, more young people, women and children joined in their activities, and they moved from store to store. They destroyed everything that they could. That local Quik Trip ended up on fire, the manager and workers hid, fearing for their lives, and the store was totally destroyed. Hundreds of cops made their presence known, and 35 arrests were made as the night wore on. Two cops were slightly injured. Much of this seems too much like Trayvon Martin and other victims of senseless gun violence all over again!

Root Cause(s)?

The loss of that young human life and at the hands of a more powerful person, is very sad. We will never know what actually happened, as Michael Brown is not here to give his side of the story. And can we trust that the LEO who killed him, is telling the truth? That is unclear. As many of us know, LEO's often get by with their brutality against members of minority communities and the victims rarely get justice. But the resulting racial tensions in Ferguson only reflect those throughout the nation and which resembled those surrounding the senseless shooting death of unarmed Trayvon Martin. Most of what people denigrate as "race riots" are usually peaceful protests of heartbroken minority communities demanding justice and answers for victims of senseless and unjust violence. Many of such peaceful protests happened after the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. The day after the shooting death of Michael Brown, people marched in the streets to peacefully demand answers in Michael Brown's shooting death. Yet the teens and even women and children, who vented their rage on the community, are much like the Black Panthers who have a $10,000 bounty on George Zimmerman's head. It is easy to dismiss these people as thugs, punks and worse, and cheer that they are behind bars, where they belong. Yet some of us who watched the tragic scene of the violent lootings, know that there are deeper causes of the rage than rage-filled efforts to lash out at the community. We know that these people come from at-risk communities where poverty and hopelessness fuel rage and bitterness and futility. Many of them come from homes where fathers abandon their families and mothers are the heads of their homes. We should not look down on them or feel contempt, but rather pity this sad reality of the Bible's principle that "the sins of the fathers are being visited on the children" and the hopelessness of it all. These people, many of them so young, may never have a future as much of it may be spent behind bars. We understand that Blacks are overrepresented in the prison population. When will it end?

Where Do We Go From Here?

As one legal analyst stated, it seems that we are living in a post George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin era. The shooting of Black teens is not stopping. The heroic efforts of the Martin family and of other victim's families, seem to be having limited effect. It only goes to show that the root causes go deep, that racism is very much alive, and that we still have far to go. Yes, we have come a long way, especially as far as legislation goes, that give broad protections to minority groups. Racism is now universally condemned. We can speak freely of the need for peaceful race relations. We have a Black President. But unconscious racism remains in many of us. Research shows that most of us women instinctively clutch at our purses when we encounter Black males. Many of us still refer to Blacks as the members of a group, especially when it comes to crime. In the media, we tend to see Black on White crimes portrayed far more than Black on Black, or White on Black crimes. Because of this, we may find it easy to criminalize Blacks, especially males. Recently, I found myself saying, "Wow! All these Black on White crimes" and another time, I was watching a case unfold. I mused, "I hope this is not Black on White. That would just fuel the racism." The truth is, we need to be discerning as we use media, realizing that media reports are probably biased and distorted. Most media, whatever the form, have their own agendas and biases. I promise you, they do. It is our job to discern what is fact and what is just biased opinion. If we do this, we will find it easier to see people as individuals and not as members of groups, and to be part of the solution rather than the problem.

And there continue to be new, sad developments even as I write. The Black Panthers, not content to let the investigation unfold and run its own course, are angrily demanding "Charge that cope with murder now!" A new Black Panther, according to the FBI, is calling for more violence against Ferguson cops. The shooter cop, out of understandable fear for his safety, refuses to release his name to the public. An officer was shot and injured over the past evening. Violence continues in Ferguson.

All I know is that we need to stop the shootings of unarmed teens. Laws alone will not do that. Hearts need to be changed. That is where loving our neighbor comes in, including those who are unlike us.

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