Man, some people are just rude.
Like cops in White Plains, New York, for example.
Bad enough this cop kills a high school kid. But, for the benevolent association to go ahead and name him "Officer of the Year" after the killing is just beyond the pale. And I don't care how impressed the group was with the wayhe carried himself through the Mickey Mouse investigation by his superiors, the award sends a very sad message.
Basically, killing young Negroes gets you an A+.
Well, that's the message I received, along with the message that the police will ALWAYS close ranks around one of their own as long as the officer isn't accused of snitching. Murder, rape, theft, are worthy of protection even after conviction. For some reason, when regular people get arrested, the police automatically assume they are guilty, but when police officers get arrested, that same confidence in the legal system disappears. It's why some folks describe the police as the nation's largest and most powerful gang. Think about it.
Clearly, this benevolent group wanted to send a message to the rest of the world that they didn't care what anybody said or thought abotu that shooting. They believed this officer was worthy of congratulations for taking another life under strange circumstances. A panel of his peers had cleared him, so of course there was nothing to be concerned about. Of course.
It's just another brick in the massive wall between most black folks and law enforcement. There is very little trust on either side, and that lack of trust began because of the actiosn by folks with badges.
That wall isn't coming down any time soon.
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Thursday, April 14, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Equality For All
In the "Parable of the Laborers" Jesus uses a story about the daily operations of a farm to discuss God's sovereign nature and mankind's unworthiness when it comes to eternal salvation. The parable is not one of the more popular earthly examples of God's thought process, but it is one of my favorite and one of the more thought provoking. Not only does Jesus talk about the mechanics of eternal life, but he does so in a way that explains other truths about human beings.
Mainly, the fact that we really don't like equality.
Sure, we claim to love equality. "All men are created equal" and all that jazz. Yet, over the course of human history, ALL human history, that concept has been exposed as a lie. Most of us like feeling superior to someone, and any attempts to "raise" the inferior into a better position will be fiercely fought.
The parable notes that when the workers learned that they were going to be paid onlythe price they agreed upon for work, and not receive a huge bonus, they became angry and questioned why the master would elevate men beneath them to their position. After all, the master was paying those who had worked for an hour, the same as men who toiled for 12 hours. Those workers hired later in the day had been repeatedly ignored because they were clearly "undesirable." To put them on the same pay scale as the workers hired first, who negotiated their own wage, was saying they were just as worthy as their "betters." These people weren't upset because they were being paid unfairly or cheated, they were upset because their sense of superiority had been dashed.
Doesn't that sound like people you know?
How many people get upset when their pedestal is destroyed? In times past, it was said that the only thing a poor white person could take confidence in was that at least he wasn't a nigger. No matter how much a black man acquired, he would always be a nigger, and therefore equality would always be denied him. That gave some folks comfort. And I don't want to pick on white folks because all folks have these sorts of ideas. They may stem from race, or class or profession, but everybody likes to maintain a gulf between themselves and the "undesirables." Hell, even the "undesirables" have their own ranking systems.
Yet, as prevalent as this attitude may be, it's not divinely ordained nor supported. It's not just the way things have to be, it's the way we want them to be. Equality doesn't just mean treating people nice. It means actively supporting the dismantling of systems that create false superiority. It means being willing to sacrifice personal comfort for a nebulous ideal.
Who is equal to that task?
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Mainly, the fact that we really don't like equality.
Sure, we claim to love equality. "All men are created equal" and all that jazz. Yet, over the course of human history, ALL human history, that concept has been exposed as a lie. Most of us like feeling superior to someone, and any attempts to "raise" the inferior into a better position will be fiercely fought.
The parable notes that when the workers learned that they were going to be paid onlythe price they agreed upon for work, and not receive a huge bonus, they became angry and questioned why the master would elevate men beneath them to their position. After all, the master was paying those who had worked for an hour, the same as men who toiled for 12 hours. Those workers hired later in the day had been repeatedly ignored because they were clearly "undesirable." To put them on the same pay scale as the workers hired first, who negotiated their own wage, was saying they were just as worthy as their "betters." These people weren't upset because they were being paid unfairly or cheated, they were upset because their sense of superiority had been dashed.
Doesn't that sound like people you know?
How many people get upset when their pedestal is destroyed? In times past, it was said that the only thing a poor white person could take confidence in was that at least he wasn't a nigger. No matter how much a black man acquired, he would always be a nigger, and therefore equality would always be denied him. That gave some folks comfort. And I don't want to pick on white folks because all folks have these sorts of ideas. They may stem from race, or class or profession, but everybody likes to maintain a gulf between themselves and the "undesirables." Hell, even the "undesirables" have their own ranking systems.
Yet, as prevalent as this attitude may be, it's not divinely ordained nor supported. It's not just the way things have to be, it's the way we want them to be. Equality doesn't just mean treating people nice. It means actively supporting the dismantling of systems that create false superiority. It means being willing to sacrifice personal comfort for a nebulous ideal.
Who is equal to that task?
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Thursday, April 7, 2011
Does This Mean the Justice System Is Working?
Someone shared this story with me, and I just had to pass it along. If you're wondering whether you should click on the link, let me give you a teaser:
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Juror No. 799, an Asian woman in her 20s who said she works in the garment industry, was up for jury duty in the death penalty trial of Bonanno crime boss Vincent (Vinny Gorgeous) Basciano.
It didn't take long for her to start looking worse than the defendant.
Asked to name three people she least admired, she wrote on her questionnaire: "African-Americans, Hispanics and Haitians."
When the judge asked why she answered the question that way, she replied, "You always hear about them in the news doing something."
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Monday, April 4, 2011
Me, Me, Me
Emotional reactions.
I have them. You have them. They have them. We all have them.
Moving past the emotion, and seeing the real issue is difficult. For example, I typically have a negative emotional reaction when women discuss "street harassment."
Some men might not know that term. It's the way some women describe the aggressive sexual advances made by men in public. It can range from the simple "Hey, baby you looking good" to "Bitch, you think you better than me?"
Most men pay very little attention to this behavior, and even when we do, we don't deem it harassment. I know I haven't. It was only after listening to women describe the fear and pain these type of encounters brought them that I even considered the term. Sure, I knew that some cats crossed the line and disrespected girls, but I never understood exactly how often it happens, and the way the mere threat of it happening can impact the lives of women. Hearing some of the stories told by women was an eye opener, to say the least.
But, even with my eyes opened, my heart still hasn't changed enough. See, I feel terrible that women feel scared, unsafe and objectified. I don't want men to behave like that. Yet, when I hear women call it harassment, I get defensive. I get angry, and find myself, inside my head, trying to figure out ways to minimize the stories these women are telling. I downplay the threat of violence, I rationalize the disrespect. It all happens in my head, but it still happens.
And I've finally figured out why.
It's about me. I am a man. I objectify women. Since I'm married, I don't try to pick up strangers on the street, but I still examine their body parts with interest. I assess them for sexual attractiveness, and enjoy appreciating their shape. I see this as normal acceptable behavior. I see men trying to get close to them and their shapes as normal, acceptable behavior. While I disagree with the methods, I don't disagree with the mindset.
It makes sense to me.
When I came to this realization, it was easy for me to see why I get defensive. Even though I don't approach women, when I see condemnations of that behavior, I take them as condemnations of me. Even though I can see the larger problem I still get upset at what I consider a condemnation of me because it conflicts with my belief that I'm a "good guy." I know that the women who are sharing their stories are justifiably angry, but since I don't think I deserve their anger, I resent them for it.
I make it all about me.
But, it's not. I only understood this when I substituted "racial harassment" for "street harassment" and began to consider the issue from that angle. I thought about the attitudes of police officers, business owners and regular folks when they see a young black male.
I made it about me, but this time I put myself in the shoes of a group that's been mistreated and disrespected and I asked myself "How would you feel? Would you be kind? Would you be sweet? Would you care about finding terms that make things nicer for folks who look like your oppressor?"
Or would I just want to express my rage, my disgust and my frustration? Would I expect those people who really want to help me to be able to see past those inarticulate emotions to the truth behind them?
How can I have those expectations of others, and not expect them to have those same expectations of me?
Share
I have them. You have them. They have them. We all have them.
Moving past the emotion, and seeing the real issue is difficult. For example, I typically have a negative emotional reaction when women discuss "street harassment."
Some men might not know that term. It's the way some women describe the aggressive sexual advances made by men in public. It can range from the simple "Hey, baby you looking good" to "Bitch, you think you better than me?"
Most men pay very little attention to this behavior, and even when we do, we don't deem it harassment. I know I haven't. It was only after listening to women describe the fear and pain these type of encounters brought them that I even considered the term. Sure, I knew that some cats crossed the line and disrespected girls, but I never understood exactly how often it happens, and the way the mere threat of it happening can impact the lives of women. Hearing some of the stories told by women was an eye opener, to say the least.
But, even with my eyes opened, my heart still hasn't changed enough. See, I feel terrible that women feel scared, unsafe and objectified. I don't want men to behave like that. Yet, when I hear women call it harassment, I get defensive. I get angry, and find myself, inside my head, trying to figure out ways to minimize the stories these women are telling. I downplay the threat of violence, I rationalize the disrespect. It all happens in my head, but it still happens.
And I've finally figured out why.
It's about me. I am a man. I objectify women. Since I'm married, I don't try to pick up strangers on the street, but I still examine their body parts with interest. I assess them for sexual attractiveness, and enjoy appreciating their shape. I see this as normal acceptable behavior. I see men trying to get close to them and their shapes as normal, acceptable behavior. While I disagree with the methods, I don't disagree with the mindset.
It makes sense to me.
When I came to this realization, it was easy for me to see why I get defensive. Even though I don't approach women, when I see condemnations of that behavior, I take them as condemnations of me. Even though I can see the larger problem I still get upset at what I consider a condemnation of me because it conflicts with my belief that I'm a "good guy." I know that the women who are sharing their stories are justifiably angry, but since I don't think I deserve their anger, I resent them for it.
I make it all about me.
But, it's not. I only understood this when I substituted "racial harassment" for "street harassment" and began to consider the issue from that angle. I thought about the attitudes of police officers, business owners and regular folks when they see a young black male.
I made it about me, but this time I put myself in the shoes of a group that's been mistreated and disrespected and I asked myself "How would you feel? Would you be kind? Would you be sweet? Would you care about finding terms that make things nicer for folks who look like your oppressor?"
Or would I just want to express my rage, my disgust and my frustration? Would I expect those people who really want to help me to be able to see past those inarticulate emotions to the truth behind them?
How can I have those expectations of others, and not expect them to have those same expectations of me?
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