Tag: racism

At the risk of offending some,  I am going to address what is going on in the world between the police and African-American men. I was very hesitant to do so because honestly, there is enough bad news going around on the television and social media, who needs my two cents? But the weight of this issue has tripled and so I want to dedicate a post to all those who have fallen.

I am not a conspiracy theorist, in the least! In fact…those people actually annoy me. I remember growing up listening to my Dad conjure up his Pelican Briefs. Pelican Briefs being what I called every conspiracy that he spoke out loud. If the phone clicked in his ear while he was in the midst of a conversation… that meant the FBI had been listening in. If the Lakers got too many bad calls on them in a row… then the refs were working with the other team. And if a plane went down for any reason at all…Well… that was the CIA of course. I used to laugh and shake my head at him for believing that everything was so calculated. Things have gotten a lot less funny as I have gotten older.

When my father dedicated his life to Christ, there were still conspiracies, but now the enemy was the devil. “The devil don’t sleep!” he’d say “So you better say your prayers.” I think back on that fondly now, and if he was still here today prayers would be plentiful and he would have a whole brief about the way things have been going down for decades, but most blatantly since Trayvon Martin was slain. 

Since then there appears to be a wave of bodacious violent behavior against Black men. George Zimmerman, claimed to be a concerned citizen, which in my opinion was a very sheer cover up to the evil heart behind his actions. But these officers of the law, who are sworn to protect and serve, are supposed to know better. Who are you protecting and serving by executing a man for a fix-it ticket violation? Who are you protecting or serving by choking a man out on the street who is in distress and telling you that he can not breathe? And who do we protect and serve by shooting down an unarmed boy who stole a pack of cigarillos?  How is society made better by sending the message to a culture of people that their lives have no value? To me this does not seem like an  epidemic…its a pandemic. Its not episodic…and it is being further perpetuated by failure of consequences and the message is LOUD. If we treat them like animals, we can provoke them to respond like one.

These are not coincidences. These feel like plotted attacks against a people…my people. And while I stay away from the TV and the news feeds my heart is very heavy. My heart is heavy for the mothers, wives, sisters and brothers, children and loved ones of these victims. My heart is heavy for a generation of young black children and adolescents who can be here today and gone tomorrow because of the color of their skin and a black hoodie. My heart is heavy and my breathing labored as I raise not one, not two, but THREE sons in a time where there is a debate between #BlackLivesMatter and #AllLivesMatter…how about LIFE matters…Because it does, no matter the color, but one color is currently under attack.

To handicap a people in society by killing their men publicly and ferociously and then giving their murderers administrative leave to investigate when there is VIDEO and AUDIO footage is also so very LOUD. It not only compromises the lives of civilians, but also the faithful and just law enforcers who share a badge, but not a prejudice. The tension this evokes is terminal and intentional in my opinion. I see these cops who are taking these charges as I see the suicide bombers of terrorism groups. This is a movement and it can not be ignored. The alarm needs to be rang, the security rating needs to move to RED, and killing needs to end. I am praying for my people, I am praying for people who truly protect and serve EVERYONE, I am praying for my SONS, and I am praying for this nation. Thanks for reading.