A Reading Assignment:
The black community should read the fable “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”. Part of the moral to that story is applicable to what is going on today. A black man is hurt or killed in a police action (or a non-black citizen) and the mob is ready to “burn this mother down” in response. “Wolf!”
Unfortunately a majority of the time, there is no wolf.
No Wolf, Not Even a Smidgen of a Wolf:
Often, the man in question made a decision that led to his death (Travon Martin; Stanford, Florida). A tragedy? Yes. But a reasonable response from another man who had to choose his life over his attackers.
Often the man was just a thug acting as thugs do (Michael Brown; Ferguson, Missouri). A tragedy? Yes. But a reasonable response from the man (a police officer) who had to choose his life over his attackers.
Maybe But Why:
Then there are times when there may have been a wolf. (Eric Garner, New York). It would definitely be something that needs to be looked at. BUT, the black community cries wolf so often the initial reaction is “Here we go again… (eyes rolling).” This may be a case that really deserves public attention, but too much capital has been spent on past ridiculousness that no one pays attention.
Eric Garner brings up a lot of questions I would like to discuss. Do we really need laws that so criminalize people for nothing offenses; such as selling “loosies” (non taxed single cigarettes)? Why are those laws on the books in the first place? (Answer: The left has got to have every penny of those taxes.) Do we really want our police enforcing these bullshit laws for the sole purpose of tax collection?
Eric Garner died, because people like Mayor Bill de Blasio can’t stand for a few pennies to slip through their fingers in their quest for a liberal, nanny-state utopia. Is it possible to discuss this horrible side-effect of their policies? Maybe if we weren’t constantly bombarded with phantom wolves from all directions… so probably not.
Real Wolf Immediately Dealt With:
Then there are times when there most certainly was a wolf. (Walter Lamer Scott, North Charleston, South Carolina) Sure you scream wolf in these cases too, but the anti-wolf system worked in a matter of days (if not hours). The officer was almost immediately arrested and charged with murder. The left will argue, “only because there was a video”. Granted, the video expedited the process, but I still call bullshit. The forensic evidence and that of witnesses would have yielded the same results.
Definitely Worth Looking Into:
And finally we come to the latest wolf. (Freddy Gray; Baltimore, Maryland) This is definitely a case that again needs investigation and public attention. But wait a minute I can’t help but focus on the thugs and hoodlums, burning, stealing and rioting. I can’t help but focus on civil authorities and the police allowing that crap to go on; ruining the lives of store owners and residents. In the brief pause in the violence I hear Al Sharpton and other race pimps push the some poison they always push through the smoke of violence.
I may eventually hear a few voices of reason somewhere in there… but it is drowned out by two things. The number and volume of bad people shouting over them AND the number of times I’ve heard “wolf” when there was no wolf. Idiots even remind me of the imagined wolves when making their point that this one is real.
A Little Advise for Credibility:
Here is a little advise… if you’re at all interested in a little credibility, at all interested in actually addressing issues that really need addressing.
1) It’s not in your interest to quote all the times you were hysterically mistaken when trying to convince me this time you’re not.
2) It’s not in your interest to use lies as the foundation of your protests. (I.E.) “Hands Up Don’t Shoot” only reminds us that the thug didn’t have his hands up when he was shot. He was by his nature attacking… and HE was the cause of his own tragic death.
3) It’s not in your interest to try to convince me I’m racist or “privileged”. I know my heart. I know the work and trials I’ve gone through to get where I am. I’ve seen others (of all races) do the same. The assertion nonsensical.
4) As long as you insist on trying to get me (society) to chase every wolf you imagine the eventual result (and we’re practically already there) is going to be I’m not going to pay attention… to any wolf… real or imagined.
The Community that Imagined Wolves:
I said earlier that the moral to the story of “The Boy that Cried Wolf” is partially applicable to the black community today. It is only applicable in the consequences of repeatedly rousing hysteria when none is warranted; and then expecting the right results when concern IS warranted. Where the fable doesn’t fit is that in the original story, the boy knew there was no wolf the many times he riled up the villagers. The black community (with some devious and evil exceptions) believes in every wolf it crows about. It’s almost to the level of a paranoid psychosis.
The feeling that America is a racist society, that whites are a privileged class, and that this attitude has infected law enforcement across this nation is in fact absurd. But I’ll go further… it’s root cause IS racism… black racism promoted and encouraged by those who profit from it.
The black community does indeed have grievances that are worthy of being discussed, debated, and real action taken. The black community does indeed have problems (mostly ignored) that also needs to be brought up in this great discussion. It is in all of our interest because it is good to help (truly help) our neighbor… and the nation as a whole (all races) is only steps behind on the same road to destruction.
OK, before I head down a path you didn’t intend again, let me start by confirming a few things:
“Unfortunately a majority of the time, there is no wolf…. the black community cries wolf so often the initial reaction is “Here we go again… (eyes rolling).”
1. You believe the majority of black complaints about police abuse are false.
“It’s not in your interest to try to convince me I’m racist or “privileged”. I know my heart.”
2. You believe you see the world plainly, and are not living in a bubble of white privilege that distorts your perception.
“The feeling that America is a racist society, that whites are a privileged class, and that this attitude has infected law enforcement across this nation is in fact absurd. But I’ll go further… it’s root cause IS racism… black racism promoted and encouraged by those who profit from it.”
3. You believe that black leaders, perhaps such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, are exaggerating the problems of black America in order to maintain their positions of influence.
Is that a fair summary of your positions?
Thank you for clarifying… 🙂
1. Yes. Police Abuse AND White racism (see Travon Martin). Most may not believe they are false… but they are. I would hold up Ferguson as the perfect example.
2. Yes. My experience is that there is no white privilege in society today and hasn’t been for decades. If ever I have seen ANY privilege (and it was very rare) it has been the acceptance and protection of incompetence at the alter of diversity.
3. Yes. Influence, Power, and Money. It is an industry. And it expands well beyond the obvious shysters. It is one of the key foundational planks of the Democratic Party.
So let me have it… 🙂
HA! My friends are looking at me, wondering why I’m chuckling….
This isn’t actually a setup to burn you. I’ve always liked Stephen Covey’s saying, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”
Now that I understand your thoughts, I’ll share mine:
1. I believe that blacks are unfairly discriminated against by the police often enough that they have a right to distrust law enforcement.
For example, you’re much more likely (35-75%, depending on region) to be pulled over if you’re black, than if you’re white. The joke in the black community is getting pulled over for DWB — Driving While Black. The fact that this is done by black cops as well as white doesn’t alleviate racism. It simply shows that black cops are more loyal to (white) cop culture than to their ethnic group. The same is not true for Hispanics or other ethnic minorities. It’s purely a black thing.
2. I believe you and I live in a white bubble, which we’re only conscious of when we step outside it.
For example, if I approach someone to ask directions, they don’t immediately think I’m panhandling. When I walk down the street, old white ladies don’t lock their car doors.
However, I do not support the continuation of affirmative action, which I believe has lived out its usefulness. To continue it today is simply to be racist against whites, and to deny minorities who are successful their full respect — there will always be the thought, “Are they here because they earned it?” I would argue that if, for example, you want diversity on college campuses, make policies that allow more poor, smart people to attend. Rich black kids don’t really have that different a perspective on life as rich white kids. Green is the more important color, in most cases.
3. I agree that people like Jackson and Sharpton are professional race card players, and feel the issue with the Democratic party is more complex.
Jesse Jackson, to my mind, was once legit (1960s-80s), but since the 1990s has been looking for ways to make himself relevant. Al Sharpton is a racist snake in minister’s robes who’s learned to play the game well enough to calm white nerves, and now has a talk show on MSNBC. They’re idiots to give him that platform.
The Democratic party 1960s+ has been the defacto party of black America, for good reason. Republicans have consistently represented the needs of middle and upper class whites over all others, and essentially chastized anyone who wasn’t middle or upper class for being lazy. They promote a mythology that says everyone in America can get rich, and if you’re not, you should be embarassed. Another part of their myth is that government is always bad, and the free market reveals divine will. The truth is, the government has always been a huge help to American businesses, and we’ve never had a free market — we’ve always had a protected market which looks out for business interests. The other truth is, a lot of success is luck. Yes, you need to work hard and be ready to be lucky, but many hardworking people will never succeed, in the traditional sense, or are just one financial disaster away from losing it all (medical bills, elder care, flood, whatever). We need a social structure that doesn’t doom people who weren’t lucky, made a bad decision, or aren’t super-smart (ie, half the country, by definition, has below-average intelligence). That’s more the Dems vibe than the GOP’s.
The GOP has a chance to win black votes, because (as you’ve pointed out) most blacks in America are social conservatives (pro-life, anti-gay marriage). But, contrary to intuition, I’d argue that Herman Cain and Ben Carson weren’t/aren’t the right candidates for that potential victory. Black conservatives like Cain and Carson always win the early polls within the party, because they make the white conservative base feel good — just as voting for Obama makes the white liberal base of the DNC feel good. But Cain and Carson are way too conservative to win a national election, and the whole “lecturing to black folks” thing, a la Bill Cosby, usually backfires — even without the rape allegations. It’s perceived as a rich black guy so out of touch with the typical black experience that they’re Uncle Toms. (However, as a literature buff, I’d argue that the Uncle Tom cliche is misapplied — that novel is more complex than it’s usually thought of.)
The other thing I’d point out, so that we in the white bubble can understand why blacks destroy their own neighborhoods when they riot, is this: They don’t think of it as their own neighborhoods. Rather, they’re living in occupied territory. Most slums are owned by whites who live far away. Blacks in riot zones are renters, in areas they don’t particularly like (few grocery stores, high crime, poor schools, etc), with landlords who don’t give a crap about them. They’d leave if they could. If I were trapped, angry, and distrustful of police, I’d probably throw some rocks, too.