Neither the government nor the racist organized crime syndicates within it and within the entire American penal system care about our using the race card to protest obvious and consistent bias, bigotry, prejudice and injustice in Ferguson or anywhere else. Here again, with the tragic death of Michael Brown and the entire Ferguson tragedy and debacle, we are viewing ego, anger, adrenaline, testosterone, lawlessness, fear, racism and irresponsibility, all making a toxic combination resulting in violence, death, destruction and national demonstration or demon”-stration. Where and when does it all stop? Much of the poisonous, intimidating and insulting venom is driven by media, who are doing their level best to create the tension and attention that provides them with as much incitement for news fodder as possible. This is a physician heal thyself matter where we as a people must take responsibility for the change we want and for our part in creating its need. Blaming the white man is of no value or virtue this time around, for as long as there are races, there will be racism in varying forms of manifestation and in every culture worldwide. As people of color in America, we must reclaim our hearts, heads, homes, churches and communities from a prolific toss the ball mentality of blame and giving away our personal power. The media portrays us as they desire to, based on their or somebodys own conspiratorial agenda, but they cant control what happens in our homes and heads, they can only influence it, and even then only with our compliance and concession. As Eleanor Roosevelt said, No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.” I want to say off the bat, that I am 1000% against the cryptically legal expulsion and killing of any American citizen by police officers and especially in the alarming numbers that African American youths are being killed. In most cases, the presumed offenders could have been simply wounded or otherwise temporarily incapacitated with stun guns and the like, but were instead, all but randomly murdered, shot down like an animal in hunting season. This is absolutely unacceptable and must be changed. It is a known and proven fact that African Americans are disproportionately killed, arrested and incarcerated when compared to other ethnic groups in this country, especially Anglo Americans. The system is obviously flawed, with regard to prosecution and legal integrity, and the data is there to prove same. Another concern I have, as a father of a 20 year old son and an 18 year old daughter, is what we as parents, particularly African American parents, can and should do to keep our children out of situations often triggered by unruly teenagers themselves who also have egos and adrenalin and struggle with anger, poverty, ignorance, lack of spiritual nurture, proper education and a host of other community and cultural maladies. Most parents do their best to teach, train and positively influence their young, but far too many dont, especially the children who are having children and partying in between, expecting grandparents to fill in the blanks, both domestically and financially. This is a whole other subject, but bares mentioning here. The African American community must raise its own bar and pick up its own slack. The blame game hasnt worked for us, neither will another march. This time We shall overcome and must overcome ourselves, more than someone or something else. Prayer meetings are often just another anemic survival technique that has some psychological benefits, but obviously is not getting the job done. In addition and perhaps more important than praying and marching, which weve done for decades, we need to make the hard personal decisions and choices to change our values, behavior and communal validations as a people. We must raise our own consciousness and spiritual awareness far above the trite religious and political rhetoric weve heard and used for decades which served a powerful purpose initially, but has become anemic and powerless in this 21st century, even with an African American President, Attorney General, an all but silent or silenced Black Congressional Caucus. Again, neither the government nor the racist organized crime syndicates within it and within the entire American penal system care about our using the race card to protest obvious and consistent injustices in America. Our ideas and perceptions of shame, scarcity and fear must be not only addressed but changed. We need overall course corrections and to change our self-talk or the way we talk to and about ourselves, not to mention what we think to and about ourselves. All people should. We must self-realize and self-actualize by centering ourselves and souls anew and loose our victim consciousness and see ourselves not as victims of circumstances but victors over them. As Wayne Dyer says: When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change! What say you?
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 04:11:09 +0000