Is It Still Not Yet Time To Wake Up and Be Honest?

"This is not how I feel as a white person. And I don't think the majority of whites feel this way. No.But it seems that people feel empowered now to act out on both sides in ways that are hateful and destructive. Like, all of a sudden they have permission. I feel sorry for the children who are now going to go more toward racism on both sides because of this example."


This was the first stanza of a comment that I read yesterday in response to this photo that is making the rounds on the internet..

I didn't include the rest of the comment, because it was based in religious faith, and that's a whole other topic for another day. 

When I read this portion of the comment, my immediate thought was "This is probably THE main reason why the insanity of 2016 exists today." 

I'm going to speak to White liberal America right now. Now before you get defensive, understand where I'm coming from. I'll speak on behalf of most black people when I say that WE UNDERSTAND THAT YOU'RE NOT RACIST, NOR DO YOU WISH HARM UPON US.....But that doesn't mean that you don't support our oppression, albeit it unconsciously, without even realizing it. I'm going to do my part to open that third eye to those who are open minded enough.

Going back to my first thought to the comment, it is because of factors like downplaying racism in America, not taking the word of the victims of the disenfranchisement of racism on face value when, for generations, they've been telling you of the existence of it. And now, with the advent of video technology combined with the global reach of the internet, you have every existence of evidence that the stories weren't exaggerated, that these people really do suffer from constant threat of malevolent racism, no matter where in this nation they live. You see people literally getting away with murder and then you see a direct contrast to how others are imprisoned for decades of time for things that are virtually nonsensical. For all of the obvious things right before your own eyes, you still swim in the waters of denial once it gets to a certain point. You fall back on an ideology of belief in a decency in people that doesn't reflect the reality that you literally are forced to see everyday you log on to the internet, or watch the news. You continue to insist that that's just a fringe group of outliers, no way is racism that rampant, no way does it permeate our society any deeper than some backwoods inbreds who never left the farm. We're CIVILIZED people, we're POST-RACIAL.....

And then it gets exacerbated, because you do something that I swear aggravates the shit out of black people- although we understand that you mean well by it-, you offer us your condolences and your sympathies....You do that, instead of doing what needs to be done, which is taking that disgust out on the ones who are the source of your disgust through actions. Now I don't mean getting violent on folks, but I do mean by using the thing that you are in possession of, which goes into my other point of unconsciously supporting oppression, and that is using your privilege to push for change. A lot of you still hate to even accept the construct of white privilege, even while in the same breath acknowledging that a society of racial inequity exists. Well if you're getting treated better than others, does that not validate the existence of privilege? 

By giving us the old pat on the back 'Man, I'm so sorry to see that you have to go through this, I'll pray for you' sympathy schpeel, you accomplish keeping yourself in a position of comfort, clear conscience, and absolutely contributing to the allowance of the status quo, which is, in effect, supporting another's oppression. Also, when you criticize the methods of protest that disenfranchised people take in order to expose and spread the message, you also contribute to the push to silence that message. By saying things like "I support your message, but you shouldn't express it that way, you should think of a better way, then more of us will listen to you." , you basically just made it more about you're being comfortable than helping us. People are always quick to point to MLK as the shining example of how to do it, but you are revisionist in your history. People were telling MLK the exact same thing that this generation tells us. They fed him the same line then that you feed us now. They told him 'just be patient, things will change for you. just change the method of what you're doing'. People forget that MLK called out white liberals on it, but because he had a passive eloquence about him, he wasn't remembered and trashed for it the way Malcolm X was, for basically saying the same thing. MLK understood the value of knowing how to articulate with diplomacy  the same way Malcolm knew the value of saying things with a raw honesty. They were a perfect ying/yang to one another. Here's what MLK had to say about the liberals in his day:

So here's what I'm saying. Don't give us your sympathy, we never asked for that. Give us your empathy, and stop being half in on getting involved. You have just as much of a responsibility to acknowledge the elephant in the room, and to fight this issue, because it's your issue, as well. You will all be painted with the same broad brush before long as the face of racism. If you can take the streets in protest of your new president, why couldn't you have done the same for the fight for equality and the ending of systemic injustice towards p.o.c? Plenty of your forefathers did, now it's your turn. Stand with us, as we will stand with you. We understand that this programming is so deep in our subconsciousness, but it's time to see clearly and reprogram ourselves.

Now, black people, I didn't forget about y'all, oh no. You have your role in how things currently exist, as well. Even with all of the years of  'we gotta do better, we need to stop the violence, we have to support each other, we need to learn how to do this and that'......well, what the hell is stopping you?

You see, unlike in the days of MLK and our forebrethren, we have the ability to do things that they were unable to do. Yes, systemic racism is still a hell of an obstacle, but what does that have to do with your ability to use that computer in your pocket to help you learn something that will give you a certain skill that can be used to help you and your people? When will we decide to see just how critical this situation can become for us during these (possible) next four years and start mobilizing?
I'm seeing way too many jokes still being posted on people's Facebook walls, instead of serious thinking about ideas for our betterment in this unknown time. I'm still seeing a sense of apathy instead of a sense of being galvanized to seize the moment. When will we learn to take this enemy seriously and strategize for what could be, because best believe, if they got together to get this guy elected, what makes you think that they're not planning and strategizing to stomp on all of us? ESPECIALLY now, since they have the most powerful weapon in the world, the 3 branches of the U.S. government.....

Start taking this shit seriously, before it punches you right in the face. Start thinking of how to better your personal situation and how that connects to your fellow brother/sister. Support one another, see the setup clearly and free yourself from that programming that there are too many obstacles to overcome. Stop waiting for a leader, and be your leader. You don't need to be led when you know where you need to go, just be open to learning the things that will help you to get there, and network with people who can provide those things, then pass it on to the next, pay it forward. We need to come to this version of understanding now. We are a force of nature that refuses to mobilize and that needs to change. But you have to change to see change happen, let's go

                                                         IT'S TIME TO MOVE



Thank you for reading

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