On Being White in America!

Guess that title will get some attention in light of the last few months.  I, like many Americans, are tired of the Battle of Ferguson and all the talking heads, pundits and bobble heads denouncing everything about the prosecutorial process, the grand jury, the water and the hamburgers.  I am making light to get to a point.  Last night I decided I would go newsless after an amazing Thanksgiving service at my church but, like trying to not watch a car wreck in progress, my fingers did the walking toward channel 1350; CNN on HD.  BUSTED I was!

 

But as the shotgun blasts about all white people hating all black people continued and how Michael Brown has become a martyr and using the term "murder" to describe a police officer doing his work by the book as proved by the evidence; all of which is discounted because the Brown kid was black and all the nut job organizations like the American Communist Party, the infamous Black Party and dozens of other inflammatory groups all decided to make Ferguson a battle ground.  To watch blacks destroying other blacks lives and livelihoods is beyond just wrong; it is criminal.  But in the midst of the noise, I saw a snippet on CNN that did bring a moment of smile to my consternation..

 

Mark O'Meara, the defensive attorney in the Trayvon Martin case is now on CNN.  This contributor, a black guy name Lamont something or other, loves to hear himself chatter on about "whitey" and hating all blacks thus throwing gasoline into the fire.  When I see him I go to Everybody Loves Raymond. Mr O'Meara calmly posed a simple question of Lamont in the middle of another jumbled rant by asking quietly, "do you think Michael Brown carries even a modicum of responsibility for what happened given the evidence we now have?"  From that moment on I found humor in realizing Lamont was trapped on national TV in having to think instead of rant to answer the simple question which, of course, he never did and Don Lemmon quickly went to commercial to rescue him is my thought. CASE STUDY in the state of race and reporting in this 24/7 new cycle. Get a bit and find a way to explode it into a hour in the machine needing more and more hype and distortion.

 

It is Thanksgiving Day and should be a day of rejoicing but I cannot escape the reality of the deep sores and crevices in our nation, my nation, on this issue of race.  We have come to a place where all policemen are brushstroked with the same venom by all the poor black people for the police are the Gestapo that apparently get up each morning planning to go out and shoot some innocent black person; as sick as that sounds.  If I did not spend hours each month in a county jail and see week after week after week of groups of nearly 40 men and women in chapel services nearly always with 80% plus percent blacks, I might have a different perspective so I am colored by what I see and hear and watch for I project that into the macro society. America has a black criminal issue that cannot be wall papered over with racial rants, threats or diversions.

 

Giuliani made a very profound comment last night when he spoke about why are there so many police calls into black communities and ghettos; it is easy; they are killing each other so why would the police not predominately be called to these communities?  I have to tell you, I am a pretty gutsy man and consider myself rather bravoein the midst of adversity but give what we are seeing each day and night, you have to back up and ask the question, why would any policemen knowingly enter a black neighborhood on a call knowing what potentially awaits and any action he or she might take will be ballooned into a racial attack. That is a generalization but it think you get my point.  Perhaps a sick solution is for the police to just ignore calls to come and then measure the death statistics that arise!

 

We are a nation of laws and laws are worthless unless enforced and it is the police that are charged and challenged to enforce those laws.  We have seen rampant, intentional and blatant breakage of laws which are now being allowed to continue by police in some cities, Cleveland for example, because they do not want to inflame a situation. Snarling traffic for hours is a public safety breakage of law and I feel the Police Chief that, on camera, acted like a timid lamb in light of the blatant breakage of the law should be fired for the poor example set on live news cameras. It was embarrassing and all because of the Battle of Ferguson.

 

I am a sixty-six years old man and I am white and am educated and was raised in the South and have lived and worked all of the world and now reside in the North and love it.  I remember all too well the segregated everything, met George Wallace on four occasions; enough of my credential as a qualifier for my comments!  We are a nation that is sick and I believe the sickness has gone from a cold to pneumonia due to national leadership inciting the flames that have exploded into this global spectacle that is embarrassing as a nation, demeaning to a People and I do not think represents the true America.  So I believe our fearless (smile) leader, POTUS, and the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security and others have in their own way contributed to this disaster and I would love nothing more than to sit in a room with them all and have a good Q&A to address this with them.

 

If you play with fire, you will get burned. This nation is being burned in so many ways and I think that is crimina but then I think Benghazi, VA, IRS, ACA, etc are all criminal so I guess you see where I think the stake in the ground actually resides; 1600 Pennsylvania.  I am an American, I am white, I love my country but I do not love what is happening in this my country I have careered in, worn the warrior cloth for and had been hopes for our nation.  I believe Satan is loving every bit moment of this whole unfolding of the fabric of that nation that once stood for greatness.