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Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Tamir Rice are firmly flowing through the media: traditional and social. Police brutality is the game and the stack of chips are growing larger and larger. Because of the deaths of these three black males, there is a tidal wave of black thoughts, black activism, and black anger. But behind all of that (and a big THAT it is), there is a current of something much more venomous… much more debilitating… and promises to not ebb:
FEAR
I’m being told that “In America, black children don’t get to be children“. I’m being told that “Black Lives Matter: 11 Racist Police Killings With No Justice Served“…
HIT THE DAMN BRAKES!
Eleven?!?!? Only eleven?!?!? You mean I’m supposed to be scared to be BLACK because of 11 racist police killings that Rolling Stone mentioned. I’m supposed to be fearful of police because of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Tamir Rice? I’m supposed to be in a constant fear state due to the Twitter hashtag #CrimingWhileWhite where white folks tell 140 character accounts of getting away with criminal activity (or being treated much lighter) because they are white?? I’m supposed to be f–king petrified because some lady says I wasn’t afforded a childhood because I’m black?? As former NFL wide receiver Chad Ochocinco (Johnson) famously said:
What say you Brother Cobb:
…the fact is now millions of Americans have backed themselves right back into the heart of dual consciousness. They are now obsessed by the death of two black suspects, one in Missouri and one in New York, and have taken these deaths as ominous portents of the fate of the Negro in America. Once proud black Americans have let the little Jim Crow in their heads take over their personalities and whip them into submission. Now they are not sure if they are pets or men. They’re certainly not acting like men. I’ve had it up to here.
I have decided to become an irascible asshole about this spate of black paranoia… It is ironic that this demonic possession of fear, I say again FEAR, has gobbled up whatever common sense, perseverance and motherwit we used to associate with the Negro race. But it is clear that the lot of you have lost your minds and now tremble like autumn leaves at the prospect some white man might lose his mind. And so your fear of his presumed fear of you has made you both into idiots ready to lash out like cornered animals. I’m disgusted. Thoroughly and totally disgusted at this shameful regressive display. The very idea that the sons of tenured professors “ain’t goin’ out like that” and are prepping themselves for suicide by cop in a blaze of retarded glory are the wet dreams of Willie Lynch. For what? I spit on the graves of suicides. They are murderers of the self, and there is no greater example of self-hatred than that. Except this goes one step further to terrorist suicide. A plan to intimidate millions in an act of self-sacrifices that blames the other man. I’ve see a lot of bullshit walking in my life, but this is bullshit at the speed of light.
If it has to be that those who would call themselves black in this country would sink so low, and be seduced and then obsessed by every freak accident social media can blast, then Carter Woodson is doing back somersaults in his grave. Are you all so desperate for identity that you will line up in unity behind every tragedy spewed in your direction? Ae you literally chasing ambulances? You have become a cult of death, letting it seep into your bones and affect your daily routine. This dead man means everything, you say. The man you never saw, never knew, never cared about until his death confirmed your deepest, darkest fear. And now fear dominates your spirits. You faithless wankers!
Let me be DEADLY clear: I will NOT and have NOT given in to this fear. So many of my family and friends are talking about Brown-Garner-Rice incessantly. Talk of getting more armed to protect themselves from cops. Talk of “the country’s going back to Jim Crow”. Talk of “all white folks hidden racism showing itself clearly”. Talk of “all police are ready to kill us for anything”. One of my friends actually said that “50% of American blacks are beaten by cops.” 1 in 2 black folks beaten by cops! And guess what? IT IS BEING BELIEVED DUE TO FEAR AND PARANOIA IN MY CIRCLE AND OTHER BLACK CIRCLES.
What has happened to we black folks? Many moons ago, black folks were tied down due to government sponsored discrimination. A smile at the wrong person could turn you into strange fruit. Black folks were systematically shut out of so much YET we persevered. We stayed true to a brighter day ahead. The fire hose couldn’t kill our spirits. The dogs couldn’t kill our spirits. The noose couldn’t kill our spirits. And we never let fear rule us totally.
Fast forward today: Twitter hashtags and media reports have us driving recklessly down Devolution Lane, blindfolded, and on fire. So many of us talking language that leads to suicide of body and soul. As Cobb mentioned, this isn’t martyrdom. It is flat out suicide. Our world here in America is NOT that bleak. Not even close.
We are NOT under siege by police departments and hordes of racist white folks. We are living in a country that has some problems. Problems that CAN be fixed by sailing on the Tall Ship Perseverance and steering by the Star of Righteousness. Something that the majority of Americans do or we wouldn’t be reading my thoughts right now.
REMEMBER:
I’m not complex. Don’t have time for all that. And all that complex stuff bad for the stomach. Just color me simple and plain with a twist.