Charleston: Home Grown Terrorism

Tragedy. Terrorism. Sadness. All appropriate terms when thinking of the actions by Dylann Roof, 21, when he chose to violate the peaceful assembly conducted by his 10 victims, 9 of which he shot down in a cold-blooded and hate-filled shooting spree.

Mental illness? I’m not sure it’s possible to not be mentally ill when you’re in a place dark enough to allow you to prepare for and carry out such a heinous crime. I’m not sure terrorists aren’t mentally ill. I suppose this debate would be left up to the clear definition of mental illness, which to me changes nothing and is simply an issue of semantics used for someone guilty of these atrocities to avoid capital punishment.

Ignorance. Hate. Intolerance. How the roots of this evil begin. Taught and learned behavior. Scary. The love of money may be the root of evil, but ignorance cannot be far behind.

This young man chose the oldest African Methodist Episcopal Church in the south. This same church counted among its founders, Denmark Vesey. Vesey was executed for allegedly trying to organize a major slave rebellion in 1822. The church was burned to the ground and rebuilt by one of Vesey’s sons.

This was a terrorist act. This was, in fact, domestic terrorism fueled by demons allowed to root themselves in the heart of a young man who was very ignorant and misguided. Perhaps that was enhanced by drugs and a twisted ideology. We may never know for sure. What we do know is that this most certainly appears to be premeditated execution of defenseless and peaceful victims.

My dad often used the quote based on 1 Corinthians 15:10 and traced to John Bradford, “But by the grace of God go I.” We all like to think we could never be guilty of an act of this nature and fortunately that holds true for the vast majority. What we can be guilty of though, is the very fabric sewn into the poisonous beliefs that foster these acts of vile contempt and unadulterated evil. History proves ignorance is very fertile soil for fanatical acts of terror.

I am so very thankful that one of the clearest memories I have of being disciplined as a child came from my having called a black woman a “nigger”. I’ll never forget it. The lady did nothing to me to provoke words of any kind. She sat in her car next to me where somewhere in my roughly 9 year-old mind I conjured up the word so often used by one of my family members when speaking of virtually all black people. I remember the lady’s husband coming out and being told what had transpired. Somehow, he collected himself enough to wait on my father to emerge. His encounter with my father was animated. I don’t blame him in the least. I remember my father, as calmly as he could, removing me from the passenger seat of his truck and standing me up to look this man and his wife in the eye and apologize. I still remember the embarrassment and shame on his face. I also remember the discipline and discussion that took place at home.

Thank God this was my father. In south Alabama, in a rural setting, surrounded by otherwise good people that ignorantly used derogatory terms and ideals of black people he was an exception. I never understood why he refused to allow me to hang a Confederate flag in my room. Revisionist history and ignorant people had taught me it was about “state’s rights” and a war of “northern aggression”. Never mind that the primary right in question was whether or not one man could legally own and enslave another and when told no, decide to pick up their toys and start their own country.

To read civil war history in textbooks that were taught in southern states up until the 1950’s and in some cases the 1960’s is nothing less than shameful and embarrassing. We didn’t teach “some” people this. We taught all our children these backward, racist, revisionist versions of history.

This happened in Charleston, SC. A beautiful city steeped in the tradition of the old, Confederate south. One of the last few holdouts that still flies the Confederate flag. To black Americans this flag is a symbol of oppression, regardless of its history. Does it still fly for education and acknowledgement of a troubled history or does it fly as a symbol of pride and salt in the wound of those who were oppressed under that very flag?

This troubled young man with hate in his heart needed somewhere to direct his sickness, his anger, his disease. Somewhere, somehow in Charleston he found something to blame. He found somewhere to direct his vitriol. He found something to blame his discontent on. That thing happened to be disdain and hatred for another race. His haunting words spoken to the person who pleaded for him to stop, “No, you’ve raped our women, and you are taking over the country…I have to do what I have to do.” Sometimes we realize we’ve not come as far as we like to think.

Am I saying that revisionist history and flying a Confederate battle flag make for lunatic rampages that leave people gunned down in cold blood? No. What I am saying is we have a serious and festering underlying issue in this country. We all want to ignore it. We want to point fingers. Truly, people this sick will always find some justification, but how is race still available as the basis of such evil?

The vast majority of us would rather draw a line in the sand and point fingers. Be they at welfare recipients, people of a differing race, religion, political party or any other assorted difference that leads us to not just disagree, but actually have contempt for those who disagree with us.

We all choose to excuse our prejudices and hide behind the various reasons mentioned above. How much time do we all spend trying to separate our biases and understand the position of the other side? One thing I know is that it’s not just the other side’s fault. It’s both sides. It’s the rigid, line drawing refusal to compromise, grow and understand together.

I want to see the first color-blind generation. We’ve made much progress but we still have so far to go. It won’t happen without some very difficult conversations, education, open-minds and more important than all, love. It’s time to wipe the slate clean and see people as people. That’s it. People trying to make their way in a dark and fallen world, just like you and I. Make eye contact, smile, forgive, laugh, lend a helping hand, hug your family and tell them you love them.

Bring love back. Perfect love is what casts out fear. This world needs Jesus, even when it wants to ignore Him, disprove Him or develop an alternative. Not religion, your creator. Pray for the victims and families in Charleston. Pray that this young man’s crime doesn’t become a rally cry for other broken and angry white kids looking desperately for an outlet to channel their aggression. Last but not least, pray for our nation.

Baltimore: Yet Another Wake Up Call

This won’t unite the world. It probably won’t even change anything. But if one single person reads this and decides to let go of their biases and prejudices and put some thought into these issues then maybe, just maybe they’ll open someone else’s eyes and so on. Nothing will be solved and things won’t improve with pointed fingers and lines drawn in the sand.

I am in total agreement that it makes no sense to protest a police killing with rioting and overall mass destruction. I understand Freddie Gray was far from an innocent victim. Did he deserve death? No. Could this have been an innocent mistake on the part of the police? Perhaps. As messed up as this all is though, it’s more than Trayvon, Michael Brown or Freddie Gray. They’re just figureheads and names in the spotlight for serious issues that have threatened to boil over and rear their ugly head for quite some time.

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 isn’t about Freddie Gray. 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.

This is about the outcry and backlash of poverty-stricken and oppressed people who feel they have no voice and nothing left to lose. Having no hope makes people very dangerous. Dangerous and often hell-bent on destruction and being heard. Not very often is this manifested in a positive manner either.

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.

The root of these issues stem first and foremost from broken people. Lots of broken people. It may make you feel better to shrug these riots off as simply the actions of thugs who are nothing but leeches of society or as entitlement minded heathens who care about as much for each other as they do for the property they’re damaging and lives they’re taking. You can choose to think of it that way, but that’s a shallow view that doesn’t want the truth.

The answer may not be best achieved through these acts of violent destruction; however, these people are tired of having no voice. Unfortunately for them they have no Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. They are stuck with self-serving, out of touch, hypocritical blowhards like Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson.

If you still haven’t decided to open your mind to the reality of situations like these, do me this favor. Drop your child off in the nearest ghetto. Pick them up when they’re an adult after having lived a childhood based on primal instinct in order to survive. Dog eat dog where the weak are crushed. Then, see how ready they are to go become productive members of society. I’m not saying it can’t happen as in the case of those such as Dr. Ben Carson, but I am saying the odds are strongly against it.

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 judgments, 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.

Dear Starbucks, Don’t

Every once in a while I’m both bemused and excited about a current event. It creates that magic moment of surrealist irony that makes me laugh and simultaneously weep for humanity. This week, the event that receives this honor from me is Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz and the now exposed directive to his employees to write “Race Together” on the side of customers’ cups in order to start a dialogue on race relations in this country.

Even though I hate to openly admit the following, I will for the sake of transparency. I like Starbucks. I like its coffee and its food. From a business perspective I think Howard Schultz is a genius and has built an excellent company. Now, what I won’t admit is that I enjoy any of the fru-fru latte’s (I only order those alone or with my wife, who keeps the secret and I always order “no whip”).

There’s really just too much here for me to handle but I can’t help myself. Wouldn’t a conversation about race relations be better spurred by a company who actually established itself in any predominantly black area? Now, I’m no Starbucks location expert, but I’ve seen hundreds of them and I can’t help but point out they’re all in seemingly upscale or at least on-the-rise areas that cater to your average white shopper.

So, I think I see what you’re doing here Starbucks. Like the hippies of old in Ashbury Heights, you have decided you have achieved the penultimate level of enlightenment and from the lofty heights of upscale Seattle neighborhoods you have now come to the conclusion that the way for you to save the world is to initiate race relations discussions in such segregated melting pots as your local coffee shops, which happen to also double as the epicenter of suburban, commercial whiteness. Well played.

I mean, can positive conversations about the plight of the inner-city black community really take place among a majority white, upper middle class customer base? What do you discuss? How you saw someone outside that looked like a Ferguson protestor and you felt so bad you refused eye contact, rolled your window up and sped away, scared they may assault you?

I’m fairly certain the irony contained in a conversation of race relations being had over a cup of $7 coffee with Colbie Caillat playing in the background all while surrounded by modern décor and a host of other all white conversation is just too much for me to bear. How about you just stick to coffee, good snacks and free wi-fi? Can you do that for me, Howard?

If the answer is no, then how about this: Build some nice new Starbucks locations in predominantly low income black communities and hire employees from the area. Actions often speak louder than words, you know. You may have to drop your prices though, because as it stands now your coffee is only available to the yuppie elite.

Let’s all keep in mind that’s it not okay for Hobby Lobby or Chik-Fil-A to have any opinions or beliefs that contradict any liberal beliefs without subjecting themselves to harassment and being lambasted by media. Now, will any mainstream media tell Mr. Shultz to keep his mouth shut and serve coffee? Will anyone else remind him that a white billionaire who serves fancy, expensive coffee to a host of other white people ranging from faux hipsters in skinny jeans and fedoras to designer jeans and Louis Vuitton bags is probably best served by not driving the race relations topic?

I’m fairly certain that since Starbucks coffee is the number one symptom to diagnosing White Girl Syndrome and in providing the foundation for all good “white girl” jokes it would stand to reason that it won’t be gaining momentum anytime soon as the modern day Foundation for Race Relations. You’d have thought that after the brouhaha started by the company’s policy towards second amendment proponents they’d learn to avoid these scenarios. But, when you’ve amassed a net worth of over $2 billion and are commonly recognized as one of the top leadership minds in the business world along with conning coffee lovers all over the United States to pay quadruple the normal price of a cup of coffee then you need something to do with your time, right?

I can’t wait until the next episode when Mr. Schultz becomes the voice of reason on American consumerism…