I’m tired…
I’m tired of the same thing the late actor Michael Clarke Duncan’s character “John Coffey” in the film The Green Mile is tired of. People being ugly to each other because of tribalism.
That’s right. Tribalism.
Racism is borne from tribalism. Ideology (political or otherwise) promotes tribalism. Tribalism erodes decency.
Yes, I said “decency”, not “unity”.
I do not have to agree with someone or unite with someone to be decent to them or respect them. As former President Barack Obama said, we don’t have to be disagreeable to disagree with one another. Decency engenders respect. To do otherwise invites oppression, which inevitably leads to violence.
All of the above said, if you are not part of the solution, then you might be part of the problem.
I’m tired, Boss…
I’m tired of reading about unarmed people, not just black people, but people, being unjustly brutalized and killed by police officers, who are protected by a law that few people are even aware of (qualified immunity).
(15 times police got away with murder: https://www.therichest.com/shocking/15-times-the-police-got-away-with-murder/)
I’m tired of divisive leadership hiding behind either milquetoast and passive calls for unity or co-signing the systemic racism and abuse of power by far too many in law enforcement by labeling peaceful protesters as “thugs” and using “law and order” rhetoric as a justification to maintain the status quo.
I’m tired of people sitting out elections and not exercising their right to vote because they allowed the media and their own lack of efficacy to convince them that they have no voice. These same people are the ones now protesting the oppression their collective lack of efficacy created.
I’m tired of extremists and real criminals using the legitimate protests to commit illegal acts of violence, arson, vandalism, and looting which allows the aforementioned “law and order” political wing (who couldn’t care less about what is being protested) to undermine the legitimacy of the protests, as if all of the protesters are criminals and deserve violent treatment in kind.
You are part of the problem if…
You ever said “all lives matter” or “blue lives matter” in retort to “black lives matter”.
You sat out an election because you didn’t like the candidates, but don’t know who your congressman or senators are.
You delude yourself into thinking that what is happening to people due to police malfeasance is not your problem.
You lament the riots and the looting instead of the systemic problems that led to them.
I might add that people should pay attention to how Houston’s mayor and police chief are handling this situation:
With empathy and a focus on the problem, not with more concern with material things and property and shutting down the protesters with batons and tear gas rather than expressing a sincere desire to listen to what is being said and what the protest is about.
What happened to George Floyd, Philando Castile, Kelly Thomas, Alton Sterling, Keith Scott, Brian Beaird, Autumn Steele, Jessica Hernandez, Devon Guilford, Abdul Kamal, Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr.,Tommy McClain, Jeremy Lett, Tamir Rice, Jerame Reid, and countless others (not all black people, as you can check for yourself) can happen to any of us.
I’m tired. Not just of people being ugly to each other, but of their indifference to the same.
-The Rational Ram
The Rational Ram 