June 24, 2015
Avenge or Love?
Lately, the subject of racism has been more noticeable on the news and in water cooler chat. In recent months, there have been riots, murders and police shootings that were made to be centered on race that all seem to have been sparked up (again) by Trayvon Martin in early 2012. Folks, it’s getting old.
I will try really hard to take my own lifelong advice about using logic in an argument where there is none. I will also remind myself that there are a hefty amount of zealots out there that wouldn’t know truth if it stepped on them like a T-Rex. (The thousandth Jurassic movie sequel is out now, yay…)
So, opening with full disclosure here. I am a white male. I know, I know… How can I stand to admit that??? Being white, male, Southern and Christian feels like a chain around my neck in today’s society. According to TV and American pop-culture, that makes me stupid, greedy, hate-filled and incapable of communicating with my children or wife. Throw Conservative in the mix and I am truly a dangerous creature that must be caged!!. Crap, I like guns too. DANGER DANGER!! They might as well start banning all symbols like me from the public eye. Why? Because there mere thought of me is now offensive and of course threatening because somebody else that looks like me, hurt someone else, somewhere else, some time ago. Some fools are still doing it today.
The next bit of ramp-up on the topic lately has come from a little thing called “I wanna play in the Whitehouse sandbox.” Good gravy! The absolute bunk spewing from this process is nauseating. Say whatever, do whatever, believe whatever… all to get validated and comfortable. All to get/stay rich and powerful. United, WE stand. Divided, THEY prosper… I would argue that a truly altruistic public servant leader would shy away from notoriety, fame and the like and just get the job done and then leave. Not these clowns… Sorry, that wasn’t nice or really fair. Let’s just call them entertainers.
Back to the dreaded white boy…
I have mentioned before that I spend a lot of time thinking and I am pretty good at deciphering human behavior. It intrigues me that people are so threatened by words and being disliked by someone else. Golly, to think that someone might act petty, selfish, hurtful and unfair too? Certainly people are not capable of those things. BUT WAIT!!! It is because I am _____ (fill in the blank of your particular demographic quality). That makes me special and protected, not unlike the Arkansas Fatmucket. (go look it up)
Any time you hear a word that ends in “ism”, immediately think, “power”. Well, you can think what you want, but I am saying that I believe “ism” is about power. Those wielding these cards of offensensitivity have been coddled for far too long. I akin this to how we approach bullying today. We have stripped the ability of the “victim” to address the bully in any meaningful way, and a proxy-parental oversight committee (PPOC) is in charge of making the problem go away. Since the PPOC has long since been coddled by the FEDGOV, we know that a solution is just another opportunity to spend money and do nothing meaningful, thus creating more problems to spend money on and do nothing meaningful. Back to solving the bully problem… We do this by protecting/saving the victim. It makes sense until you go through the “reductio ad absurdum” phase of planning. This is the part where you think things all the way through. So, maybe, if you thought it all the way through you would recognize the psychological pitfall of protecting people to the point of stripping them of being able to defend themselves… Hmmmm, victims become better victims and easier targets for bullies. Of course, the bully is smarter and savvier than the PPOC, so the bully continues to bully. Now, whether or not there is any real bullying taking place… Today, people are so damn delicate that if I look at you, I am committing hate crimes.
AND, for the record, I don’t give a flying who-who if you are black, white, brown, yellow, red, male, female, homosexual, tall, short, skinny, fat… blah blah blah. God tells me that I will love ALL people. However, just because I am tall, that doesn’t qualify me to operate a crane. It also doesn’t mean that just because I am a woman, I will make a great defensive back for the 49ers. There might be a skill set and ability factor coming into play there.
Also, just because you are different than me, I should not fear you or try to hurt you out of that ignorant fear. Those who do hurt people or hold them back for no other reason than a demographic quality need to be corrected.
Also, just because someone is acting-out toward me out of fearful ignorance, I must exercise something called self-dignity. I don’t care if you called me a cracker. I know that I am not a cracker. I am not even sure what that is, nor do I care. I don’t need to know, because I know what I am. Further, instead of seeking vengeance on you for calling me a cracker, perhaps I will return your hate with a hand and offer of help. “Obviously, you are not happy. Can I help?” Oh my! Character check time! That will separate the “talk about it”, from the “be about it” leaders. It will also show who is running your mind and your heart.
Back to the dreaded white boy…
I am trying to think of a time that I have said hurtful things to anyone. Sure, back when I was in grade school, I did stupid things and probably said something to hurt someone’s feelings on purpose. Why? Probably because I felt I needed to puff up and act all big and bad. Probably, I wasn’t very confident. Probably, there was a girl involved… BUT, as an adult, I am struggling to recall an instance where I was hurtful. I am certain that I haven’t oppressed, or belittled entire groups by attacking single representatives of any protected demographic group.
But, society wants me to feel as though I have. Today’s society wants the dreaded white boy to feel less-than or guilty ALL OF THE TIME. I must completely validate every thought, belief and position of every other protected demographic group or I am a/an ____ist. Funny, but it is almost as if the solution to “____ism” is to oppress me because people who look like me have done stupid things. Global solutions to individuals’ actions IS ALWAYS A REALLY GOOD IDEA!! That makes sense! (I am guilty of sarcasm) Let’s solve racism, sexism, genderism, ageism, toeism, treeism ismism by doing the exact same act that created some of the hurt to begin with. Vengeance is… whose? WAIT, can’t bring CHRISTIAN in the mix, because they hate homosexuals, right? We need to make sure we get rid of all those Christians!
I know, I have gone and tried to introduce logic to an emotional argument. I mentioned God a few times too. I will wait patiently for the Justice Department to show up. 😉 People don’t think anymore. Why? They don’t have to. Someone else will do it for them. Maybe, one day, some of those who have been taking a break from the difficult subjects and tasks will start to pay attention. Maybe then, they will realize that those wonderful “leaders” have been using them. Yes, you are being USED!! Evil people, calling themselves ‘leaders” of the political, religious, social and educational varieties are using people’s fears and hurts like weapons of mass social destruction against the differing cultural groups. Why? For selfish reasons of course, which usually involve money and power. BUT WAIT… this is coming from the dreaded white boy. I forgot, America has been well trained to not listen to me 🙂
— R. A. Grier