I want to make sure I acknowledge those who take activism seriously. I always appreciate passionate individuals who live fighting for what they believe the world should be. I often wonder because most activist focus on things they want to change, if they get caught up in all that is wrong and have a hard time acknowledging how far we have come? I don't believe acknowledging progress takes away from the cause, but I think acknowledging progress allows you to be able to take pride in the impact of your work. I see stories every day of people doing great things for other people (regardless of race), but sometimes we get caught in generalizing behavior that it forces us to look at the world in the wrong way.
So ask yourself the following question: Is every "white" person in the US racist?
For me it is all about perception. We are individuals. PERIOD. We generalize behavior but we can not say with extreme certainty that everyone of a certain race is racist. My ancestors paved the way for forward thinking, acceptance and love in spite of transgression and discrimination and showed unbreakable strength, courage and determination. White ancestors proved to be an example of what NOT to believe or how not to treat others in the name of God. Essentially lessons of what NOT to do. While my ancestors were an example of who to be in spite of oppression. I walk proud knowing how far we have come. I am sure some of my "white" peers do the same. Those who have no motivation to hate or oppress because of the simple fact that it is morally wrong. I walk around assuming everyone is good, until they prove otherwise. Call me naive all day, but I don't believe in assuming the worst of people until they do something to make believe otherwise or discernment kicks in. I do believe that some people get so focused on their goal and the passion of fighting for injustice, that its quite often all they see. And unfortunately negative views are often misconstrued.
There have been several incidents in the news publicized to get us focused on the abuse of power of police officers. And I am one who believes there are definitely issues with officers abuse of power, my concern, however, is that officers' abuse of power has been going on for years, yet we are seeking justice for it now... What happened to all the other individuals who died at the hands of injustice that were not publicized for us? What happened to all of those who died at the hands of unjust law/officers right in front of us? We are active now though... We are pro CHANGE now, but what's the motivation? Is it really that we have had enough? If that is the case shouldn't we have had enough of killing one another?
CHANGE and FIGHT should have started from the beginning. No one ever deserves to die unjustly. Had we been actively watching these stories in the media, gathering data by tracking the statistics and taking action by advocating for all families involved and/or using each situations as a foundation of change (one state at a time), we would be more optimistic. The future wouldn't seem so dim.
While I advocate for the families of those individuals we have loss due to this type of violence and I support the movement of "all lives" matter (which encompasses "black lives"), I can not understand why all of a sudden the news decision to feature repeatedly feature these stories acts as a motivator. We should have already been motivated to take action/take a stand on this issue. While it can be argued that the media may have had it's own agenda, I would like to think they were trying to get an organic view of the true frustration of the families and people impacted by injustice.
So when all is said and done and (thinking forward) when action is taken to revamp the assessment of officers and deputies of the law, what next issue will we be presented? What other "right now" cause will gain our interest? Will racism still be as prominent? Nothing is certain, but I do believe that if we gave self-awareness and accountability the same consideration, attention and action as we do these "right now" causes, the world just may be a better place.
So ask yourself the following question: Is every "white" person in the US racist?
For me it is all about perception. We are individuals. PERIOD. We generalize behavior but we can not say with extreme certainty that everyone of a certain race is racist. My ancestors paved the way for forward thinking, acceptance and love in spite of transgression and discrimination and showed unbreakable strength, courage and determination. White ancestors proved to be an example of what NOT to believe or how not to treat others in the name of God. Essentially lessons of what NOT to do. While my ancestors were an example of who to be in spite of oppression. I walk proud knowing how far we have come. I am sure some of my "white" peers do the same. Those who have no motivation to hate or oppress because of the simple fact that it is morally wrong. I walk around assuming everyone is good, until they prove otherwise. Call me naive all day, but I don't believe in assuming the worst of people until they do something to make believe otherwise or discernment kicks in. I do believe that some people get so focused on their goal and the passion of fighting for injustice, that its quite often all they see. And unfortunately negative views are often misconstrued.
There have been several incidents in the news publicized to get us focused on the abuse of power of police officers. And I am one who believes there are definitely issues with officers abuse of power, my concern, however, is that officers' abuse of power has been going on for years, yet we are seeking justice for it now... What happened to all the other individuals who died at the hands of injustice that were not publicized for us? What happened to all of those who died at the hands of unjust law/officers right in front of us? We are active now though... We are pro CHANGE now, but what's the motivation? Is it really that we have had enough? If that is the case shouldn't we have had enough of killing one another?
CHANGE and FIGHT should have started from the beginning. No one ever deserves to die unjustly. Had we been actively watching these stories in the media, gathering data by tracking the statistics and taking action by advocating for all families involved and/or using each situations as a foundation of change (one state at a time), we would be more optimistic. The future wouldn't seem so dim.
While I advocate for the families of those individuals we have loss due to this type of violence and I support the movement of "all lives" matter (which encompasses "black lives"), I can not understand why all of a sudden the news decision to feature repeatedly feature these stories acts as a motivator. We should have already been motivated to take action/take a stand on this issue. While it can be argued that the media may have had it's own agenda, I would like to think they were trying to get an organic view of the true frustration of the families and people impacted by injustice.
So when all is said and done and (thinking forward) when action is taken to revamp the assessment of officers and deputies of the law, what next issue will we be presented? What other "right now" cause will gain our interest? Will racism still be as prominent? Nothing is certain, but I do believe that if we gave self-awareness and accountability the same consideration, attention and action as we do these "right now" causes, the world just may be a better place.
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