OBSERVATION:
It's sickening. The Minneapolis Execution and the Central Park Karen situations should make it clear that serious discussions about racism, white supremacy and white privilege need to happen NOW in this nation.
It's sickening. The Minneapolis Execution and the Central Park Karen situations should make it clear that serious discussions about racism, white supremacy and white privilege need to happen NOW in this nation.
While incidents may seem unrelated, they are really two sides of the very same coin. The are inextricably interconnected and inseparable
There's an expression that describes oppression as having a foot on someone's neck. And while that foot was actually a knee, the image and meaning was clear and unmistakable. What was it that was literally played out before our eyes?
We witnessed culturally perpetuated and condoned oppression and abuse of power under the color of law enforcement which resulted in the extrajudicial trial, sentencing, and execution of a human - a Black man - simply because someone else arbitrarily felt he wasn't worthy to live.
It's condoned because Black men have been portrayed as natural threats for so long that society is conditioned to see them - us...me - as less than human and to treat us accordingly.
That was systemic, institutional racism and white supremacy taken to its natural, horrible end.
That was systemic, institutional racism and white supremacy taken to its natural, horrible end.
But we're a nation full of narcissist, cowards, enablers and lazy people. Even when in the masses know right from wrong, knowing the difference and having the fortitude and moral conviction to speak truth to those who perpetuate hate and those who silently allow it to be...
perpetuated, rarely coalesce into action that affirmatively addresses the real problem. There is a tendency for people to worry about being ostracized in their communities for speaking out. The real question is why would they choose to live where they are forced to accept hate...
tolerance? So the race topic doesn't become of interest or importance to the individuals most responsible unless and until it affects them directly like the killer cop or "Karen." And even then they'll pretend to be the victims of circumstances rather than culprits or predators.
It's funny how one news station in Georgia actually tried to promote Central Park Karen as a sort of confused good Samaritan but the situation somehow simply got complicated. We all know that's a lie, a deliberate one. But that's how people remain ignorant of the truth.
It's in part because some people insist on being ignorant. And, it's in part because apathy and systemic racism coded as "culture" will always color, change, and manipulate the truth to insulate people from reality and responsibility while protecting their biases.
Central Park Karen knew exactly what she was doing when she did it. She knew that societal condition for how black men are viewed tends to exculpate her even when she's wrong, while her call and false report contained a high probably abuse or even death for someone else.
She didn't care. She knew that she could abuse the system almost with impunity because of the built-n biases. That's how the system was deliberately designed going back to the days of Jim Crow and before. And if there were no witnesses, there's almost a 100% she'd be believed.
People like her don't get that video is the witness.
But more to the point, her expecting to get away with it points to the tacit endorsement of the racism and white supremacy that continues to plague this land after 400 years.
The tacit endorsement comes from the ability to arbitrarily chose to ignore her actions while holding others more accountable that is coded into the majoritarian norms and values in this nation. That ability to choose is fully the predicate for white privilege.
HERE'S THE REALITY: Whites can opt to ignore it because it'll never affect their realities. They can choose to engage or disengage. Whereas, Blacks ignore it at the peril of their lives; there are no choices no matter who you are. Forced engagement is a matter of survival, daily.
The irony is Black people don 't perpetuate white privilege or white supremacy on black people. So the notion that Black people are somehow supposed to bear the burden for redress for something it's impossible for them to fix is ludicrous.
But that is precisely the flawed and deceitful logic used by those who would perpetuate racism now, or abdicate responsibility and pass the buck and not address it because they do not feel directly culpable or responsible.
However, I perceive there's something else beginning to occur. There are an increasing number of people with good hearts, good will, and courage who are sick and tired...
...of having to explain and account for the actions and behaviors of their neighbors, friends and - sadly - even relatives. They are sick of the images they see on TV and tired of being associated with the idea of such travesties.
They don't want to have to explain such violence, cruelty and inhumanity to their children. The know the difference between right and wrong, and don't believe it's too much to expect others to know it, too.
Most of all, the see and believe in the humanity of all people, even those who don't look like them, and in these situations especially those who do not look like them.
Therefore, it is up to the "woke" people of this nation to shake these folks out of their haze of self-righteous denial, ambivalence, apathy and latent bias,...
...and force a reckoning on racism once and for all. Not only that, it will need to be constantly, perpetually monitored so that the nation won't suffer any cultural relapses in the future.
I wonder who can be counted on to fight this fight and turn this into reality?
I wonder who can be counted on to fight this fight and turn this into reality?
Otherwise, the nation will still be wrestling with this same old problem in 2120, and our grandchildren and great grandchildren will still be burdened with a legacy of hate that we failed to fix.
@threadreaderapp unroll...
