This entire article just nails it. Allow me to illustrate this point by offering my perspective on Ferguson as an African American. It isn’t about looting or a grand jury verdict, it’s about an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness that affects many black people. Said hopelessness can bubble over and become rage. It’s about the black toddler who had a stuttering problem and was immediately written off as having a learning disability, even though he aced all of his tests. It’s about the black man who pretends to talk on his cell phone or loudly whistle a tune in an effort to appear non-threatening while riding on the elevator with someone of a different race. It’s about the black man who would love to wear jeans and a T-shirt when shopping at a nice boutique, but knows he needs to wear slacks and a collared shirt so he’s not labeled a thug. It’s about the black man who will refuse to wear a hoodie in the rain after being harassed by a college security guard for being unable to see his face. All of these things have happened to me. I’ve never stolen anything in my life, I don’t get in trouble, I smile often, my family is educated and accomplished (it includes a healthcare executive, a Harvard graduate once named one of the 100 most influential African-Americans in corporate America by a popular magazine, a Ph.D., and a published author), but that didn’t offer me any sort of immunity from such treatment based on the color of my skin. Even today it happens. It makes me angry and sometimes I find myself wanting to scream until my lungs explode, but I’ve learned not to become destructive. However, for a handful of folks, the struggle becomes too much to bear and they decide to lash out in ways that make observers think that all black folks are insane. Keep in mind, St. Louis is 51% black — if all of them were looting and rioting, the entire city would be destroyed within hours. We’re talking about an extremely small pocket of individuals here. The overwhelming majority of blacks who chose to protest did so peacefully, but in a news climate dominated by the If it bleeds, it leads mentality, all of the cameras were predictably trained on the burning buildings and shattered windows. That said, I’m by no means condoning looting or violence. I despise it because it victimizes businesses that are completely innocent of wrongdoing, but in any event, one needs to understand the psychology of oppression before making blanket statements. Unless you’ve lived it, you have absolutely no clue what it’s like. None. These are conversations I hope parents will have with their children. We need to urge our kids to discuss ideas instead of disseminating hate through their computers and phones. We need to urge our children to meet people of other ethnicities, so they can understand that they’re not just people waving around a mythical race card to garner sympathy.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 05:55:36 +0000
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