None of you really need my thoughts on this but hey, it’s my blog, right? It won’t change anything but maybe, just maybe it will cause thought. We don’t have to agree and that’s okay. So with that said, here’s my opinion. Proceed with caution:
This country is two generations removed from segregation. Seriously, think about that. We all act shocked that a portion of our populace would react to an issue this way. Ever stop to consider that what’s happening stems from a complete lack of trust of the system? The very same system that was used to tell these people they couldn’t vote, use the same restroom or even drink from the same fountain?
What’s happening is wrong. I’m not defending rioting, looting or vandalism, nor excusing it. All I’m saying is this issue is so much deeper.
Do we conveniently forget that predominantly white college students often riot and vandalize after their school wins a big game? Do we forget Black Friday stampedes, predominantly white, that leave people dead and sometimes stores damaged? This isn’t about people just being stupid and barbaric. It’s about angry and scared people who don’t trust the system in place to protect them.
I’m not an apologist. I don’t feel guilty for being white; however, I am real about it. I don’t expect an entire race to recover from nearly 400 years of abuse overnight. Especially when even long after segregation was “ended” systems of oppression still remain in place, no matter how much you want to ignore that reality.
This wasn’t just about Michael Brown. It’s bigger, deeper. It’s about a system that has repeatedly failed a race time and again. Maybe not in this instance, but it has.
With that said, justice may very well have been served. I respect a grand jury that can make that decision and not cave to the pressure. I prefer riots to a system that sacrifices an innocent man to avoid scrutiny. Rioters, looters and the like should be stopped and when possible, prosecuted. I’m not debating any of this because I don’t know, nor do you.
What I do know is if we want a slam dunk strategy to make sure things stay this way then let’s just keep using ignorant labels for each other. All whites are racist and all blacks are thugs. How pathetic is this? We’re better than that. We can all do better.
We can stop being played by the media and by politics (BOTH sides) and start educating ourselves and others. We can accept that we alone won’t change this but we can start the process of change by changing ourselves, our judgements, our thoughtless words and assumptions and trying to see things from someone else’s point of view.
Most importantly, we can put ourselves aside, in order to love others. Because ultimately this is the solution. Love. The kind that casts out fear and breaks chains. The kind that causes us to have real encounters with ourselves and others. The kind that requires action and quite often gets messy. The kind of love Jesus had. That love doesn’t just change those we show it to, it changes us.
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