You know, Ive talked about the police response and such but I havent shared my opinion openly about the situation as a whole. This video is just about perfect, but Ill clarify my opinion. Bare in mind that this is the opinion of a white man, raised in the middle class, who has lived all over St. Louis and was always taught equality. In reality I dont know the first thing about what its like to be an African-American in todays society. This is simply me speaking about my observations as a St. Louis resident who has friends of all colors, religions, and social class. I believe that racism is the single biggest controlling factor that has shaped African-American culture. When you cant eat or feed your family because you cant get a job or a decent education, you only have 3 ways to survive: resort to crime, try and scrape by on government aid, or more realistically you have to resort to a mix of both. If the only way to survive is through crime, then your ability to perform as a criminal is valued. When the ability to be a criminal is valued it becomes a goal, it becomes a positive thing. It becomes something that is glorified by the cultural icons who made it while maintaining a criminal image, and also by the ones who can successfully feed their families and keep a roof over their heads and wear nice clothes or drive nice cars. Elders and authority figures can say all they want about hard, honest work and getting an education, but children are not blind. If they grow up in a neighborhood where the criminals flourish and the good people scrape by...well...those words lose their impact. When you deny an entire race of people the basic tools they need for success, you doom them to failure. It also serves to create an endless cycle of racism. Young black men resort to crime to feed their families because they have to, and in doing so they reinforce long held racial stereotypes. Even after all of the hard work of MLK and all of the other civil rights leaders, we have not been able to break this cycle. White people as a whole have played a huge role in the state of African-American culture today. We created the problem, but its going to take changes on both sides to make a difference. It isnt going to happen overnight, and it isnt going to be easy, but we all need to unite as one country, as one race, and as Americans. I know that everyone has their own opinion and many of you may disagree, but dont just lash out at me or at each other in the comments. Lets start an intelligent conversation. Its a conversation that applies to all of us. Its a conversation thats going to shape the direction of this country, and its a conversation that needs to be had.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 00:40:19 +0000
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