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There has been a LOT of crazy things going on in the world, more so than usual it seems, but yesterday it hit home for me....literally. My hometown, Baton Rouge, LA. again within a one week span is again front and center of the national (U.S.) and international media.
Seven police officers were shot in the line of duty, 3 have died and one is fighting for his life. We don't know for sure if the gun men responsible for this act were with the Black Lives Matter movement or if they were acting alone. We do know that one of the gun men, who was killed during the shoot out was NOT from Louisiana, and I pretty much bet that the other men involved were from out of state as well.
See Louisianians, no matter the pigment of our skin don't generally do violent acts like this one. We know our rights, and we know that shooting cops isn't going to solve anything. Even after Alton Sterling was killed by 2 police and his family and friends were protesting and asking all the people protesting with them to protest peacefully, to NOT engage in violence. See Violence only begets Violence. Hate begets hate. Those are the words of Jesus Christ and of Martin Luther King, Jr.
While I understand what the people with the #BLM are protesting, and why they are upset, I don't believe that calling for violence against police and non blacks is the answer. I'm sure the response I'll get is that I'm speaking from a place of White Privilege. I don't see it that way, as I have had to scrimp, save, fight and claw my way for everything in my life. I wasn't born with the proverbial silver spoon in my mouth. We lived pay check to pay check. There were many jobs I applied for, was more than qualified for, but didn't get because I was not black. I got 1 speeding ticket a month for 6 months in a row. I was doing maybe 10 mph over the limit. Each time I was pulled over it was a white male police officer. The one ticket I did get out of was by a Black Texas State Trooper who pulled me over just outside of Beaumont on the I-10 West headed towards Houston. I was driving home to Houston from a visit in Baton Rouge, to pay a ticket I'd gotten over the holidays, not for speeding but for changing lanes under a traffic light, and an expired inspection sticker. Anyway, when I was pulled over by the trooper it happened to be my birthday. Again, I was doing maybe 10 mph over. The trooper told me to slow it down, and Happy Birthday! The only reason I got out of that ticket was because it was my birthday. Had it not been, I'd of had yet another ticket. So no, I don't believe in the whole white privilege concept. I've never received special treatment based on my skin color, and I'm as white as they come. I'm of predominately Irish decent. I have red hair, blue eyes, freckles, and fair skin. When I say fair skin, I mean, I could be Snow White minus the 7 dwarfs.
So okay, I side tracked. My point is, I see tons of posts with Scriptures, and about Jesus, and All Lives Matter, etc. But do we mean it? I mean seriously?!? If you see a black man dressed like Snoop Dog, does your body stiffen up, do you get scared? Probably so. But that guy might not be a gangster. He may not be a drug dealer or carrying a gun. Why not instead of yelling and protesting, why don't we try to engage each other. If you see a mother in need of help getting her kids and groceries into the car, stop and help her. If you see and old person needing help crossing the road or the parking lot, help them. Don't look at their skin color, look at the person. Because underneath we are all made up of the same stuff.
Seven police officers were shot in the line of duty, 3 have died and one is fighting for his life. We don't know for sure if the gun men responsible for this act were with the Black Lives Matter movement or if they were acting alone. We do know that one of the gun men, who was killed during the shoot out was NOT from Louisiana, and I pretty much bet that the other men involved were from out of state as well.
See Louisianians, no matter the pigment of our skin don't generally do violent acts like this one. We know our rights, and we know that shooting cops isn't going to solve anything. Even after Alton Sterling was killed by 2 police and his family and friends were protesting and asking all the people protesting with them to protest peacefully, to NOT engage in violence. See Violence only begets Violence. Hate begets hate. Those are the words of Jesus Christ and of Martin Luther King, Jr.
While I understand what the people with the #BLM are protesting, and why they are upset, I don't believe that calling for violence against police and non blacks is the answer. I'm sure the response I'll get is that I'm speaking from a place of White Privilege. I don't see it that way, as I have had to scrimp, save, fight and claw my way for everything in my life. I wasn't born with the proverbial silver spoon in my mouth. We lived pay check to pay check. There were many jobs I applied for, was more than qualified for, but didn't get because I was not black. I got 1 speeding ticket a month for 6 months in a row. I was doing maybe 10 mph over the limit. Each time I was pulled over it was a white male police officer. The one ticket I did get out of was by a Black Texas State Trooper who pulled me over just outside of Beaumont on the I-10 West headed towards Houston. I was driving home to Houston from a visit in Baton Rouge, to pay a ticket I'd gotten over the holidays, not for speeding but for changing lanes under a traffic light, and an expired inspection sticker. Anyway, when I was pulled over by the trooper it happened to be my birthday. Again, I was doing maybe 10 mph over. The trooper told me to slow it down, and Happy Birthday! The only reason I got out of that ticket was because it was my birthday. Had it not been, I'd of had yet another ticket. So no, I don't believe in the whole white privilege concept. I've never received special treatment based on my skin color, and I'm as white as they come. I'm of predominately Irish decent. I have red hair, blue eyes, freckles, and fair skin. When I say fair skin, I mean, I could be Snow White minus the 7 dwarfs.
So okay, I side tracked. My point is, I see tons of posts with Scriptures, and about Jesus, and All Lives Matter, etc. But do we mean it? I mean seriously?!? If you see a black man dressed like Snoop Dog, does your body stiffen up, do you get scared? Probably so. But that guy might not be a gangster. He may not be a drug dealer or carrying a gun. Why not instead of yelling and protesting, why don't we try to engage each other. If you see a mother in need of help getting her kids and groceries into the car, stop and help her. If you see and old person needing help crossing the road or the parking lot, help them. Don't look at their skin color, look at the person. Because underneath we are all made up of the same stuff.
1 comment:
I'm mostly in agreement with you. However, if a black dude dresses like a street punk, there's about a 90% chance that he'll have "the attitude," even if he isn't one personally. I say that I'm prejudiced, but not racist or bigoted. By that, I mean that BECAUSE OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, I tend to view blacks as guilty until proven innocent, the opposite of the ideal. However, I don't treat ANYONE badly just because of their race; that's where racism and bigotry enter the picture. I treat anyone decently until they treat me otherwise.
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