joshuabgood wrote:
The recognition of systemic racism in US culture long precluded any critical race theory. Racism stands a problem with or with out critical race theory. Furthermore is an empirical reality. Just ask some black people close to you. Even if they know nothing about critical racism, if you are willing to listen. To folks like Keeshon, please read his essays, you will learn.
joshuabgood wrote:
The recognition of systemic racism in US culture long precluded any critical race theory. Racism stands a problem with or with out critical race theory. Furthermore is an empirical reality. Just ask some black people close to you. Even if they know nothing about critical racism, if you are willing to listen. To folks like Keeshon, please read his essays, you will learn.
For what it is worth I have been reading his essays. I have only met Keeshon once. So I do not claim to know him well at all. But I would love to get to know him better. I hear his hurt and his frustration. And I will be the first to admit that I cannot fully understand. But even so I do want the very best for him.
I hesitate to say this next part because I accept that I have many blind spots and I as said before I do not know his situation fully.
But if he were my son this is the advice I would give him if he were asking me for it. I would strongly encourage him to move out of the city environment he is in. At least for 5 to 10 years. And I know the answer would probably be, but what if all the good guys move out? What happens then?
My fear for him is that if he tries to reform from within as he is obviously trying to do now that he will be caught up in the worst elements of the BLM movement rather than having those in that movement caught up in the ways of Christ.
I understand based on his experience why it may be hard to respect authority within local law enforcement but I would encourage him to look to the many many role models within his own community who would tell him something very similar to what I have just said.
Some keep saying we must listen to the black community and not just to the ones that happen to align with our philosophy. They say if we do the latter we are not really listening. I could not agree more. But that applies to all sides of this argument. To imply that only those that speak a certain way truly represent the best interests of the whole black community is to imply the very worst of racism in my mind which is to put everyone that looks alike in a box and assume they have all experienced the same things and think the same way. That is pigeon holing in the very way that we all despise when we are pigeon holed simply based on our appearance and culture. It is not right.
And here is a little hint that I have learned from. When someone dares to stick out from the crowd in spite of the fact that he is going to be ridiculed and second guessed by those he may most closely identify with I perk up and listen. No it does not mean he is automatically right but it does mean that he believes what he believes so strongly he is daring to be different even if it costs him. That makes me listen.
I have said this before but I will say it again in this context. Here in Canada our race issues are a bit different. At least until relatively recently. Oh we had our share of bigots. Still do for that matter. But growing up the black people I knew tended to be more often than not middle class or higher. More than likely they were a doctor or a professor or a well- to- do business person.
Our race problems had much more to do with the indigenous peoples among us. This really hit home to me some 30 years ago when my past brother told a story of something that happened to him while he was a chief at a boy's camp in SC. A white mother was bringing her son to camp. In an interview she over and over again kept referring to the boy's father who she claimed to be native. Sandy was at first quite confused because it was very very obvious that the boy's father was African American and he could not possibly figure out why she was trying so hard to convince him otherwise. And suddenly it became apparent to Sandy that the reason he found this so strange was because he had grown up in an environment where it might of actually been that a native mother would of tried to convince him that her son was of black parentage.
What I am saying in all of this is while the scenarios may be different, racism is not something I am unfamiliar with. It has been around in all it's ugly forms for a long time.
I was brought up in a home where treating someone badly because of difference in colour or religion or for any other reason was about the worst thing we could do. And because of that I think I have given the subject more thought than most over the last 40 years.
And my conclusion is simply that I think Jesus said it best. The human race is ultimately our neighbourhood. And until we truly learn to love others as ourselves and follow his example of loving all equally nothing will ever change.
Right now big city police departments are easy pickings. I can devout all my time to trying to figure out how they should change. If only they saw things my way and did things the way I think they should things would be better. But I cannot do anything about that really.
What I can do is make sure that I care for all of the people in my sphere of influence with all the love that I have. And that my friends will take me the rest of my life to accomplish. If I can fix that part I will be happy.
Blessings to each of you. I really believe that everyone of you reading this really want just that as well even if you might express it differently.
