A Real Conversation

#MyThreeCents

America needed to have this conversation. We are more than the sum of our parts but we are still "parts" of the whole. We, as a nation, are stronger together but none of us, as individuals, are perfect. No one person or group of people. There is crime is every community. Yet. This is not the issue, at hand...

Reality-based dialogue about the American melting pot, or lack thereof, can never be a step in the wrong direction, if making us a stronger nation is the ultimate goal. Discussing the reality of the way we interact with one another should not constantly polarize Do you remember September 2011?! I do. America was her most beautiful when we stood together - shoulder to shoulder - bonding around our commonalities, not our differences. We can still do that without de-valuing the things that made us different.

The fact is, as much as we'd like to shy away from the truth...we are not color blind - our perceptions trump our idealism. This isn't an accusation or an attempt to sway folks one way or the other. It's fact. Our perceptions are being challenged and it is uncomfortable.

Black Americans: It is uncomfortable, as an American (of African descent), to look at our own communities and realize we are leading ourselves to destruction by passing a blind eye to what is really happening in our neighborhoods...to our children, our future. We surrender our power when we don't acknowledge the truth.

There will always be racists among us but every person that discusses this truth is not racist. We kill more of our own than any other ethnicity. There are criminals among us as well as law-abiding civilians. When do we start teaching our children that strong moral character trumps twerkin' and thuglife? We need to do better. We need to do more "law-making" and less "clean-up" of the after-affects of a law already in-force. Are you upset by the Zimmerman cases' outcome? Then start a grass roots movement to repeal that law. Do you know how? Find out. Do you know who your district representative is? Find out. Write them. Vote about it...don't just talk about it.

This change needs to come from within our community...and it needs to start now. If we spent as much time bettering ourselves as we do, pointing out the "racists", we wouldn't be failing ourselves or our children.

White Americans: It is uncomfortable, as an American (of European descent), to realize there is validity to the observations being made about the frailty of a mentality that choosing to see only that which is comfortable to look at, while ignoring a harsher reality - there are still racists in America.

It is not easy to "get over it", when "it" is constantly being - forcibly - inserted into our minds. No one has ever told a rape victim to "get over it", while simultaneously calling her/him a "slut who begged for it". Yet, this was/is happening in the black community. Additionally, pointing out "other folks" problems without adding a plan and/or ideas for resolution is fruitless and leads to resentment. Statistics? Yes. The statistics are available for all too see but if your statistical quotes about the plight of the African American doesn't include a thoughtful, genuine resolution...it comes off as ego-stroking. Self-serving. Dogma.

Frankly, it is understandably uncomfortable to be asked to
review/discuss what seems like other folks 'problems' the simple truth is, the judicial system is flawed. This country was built by men who did not see other men as fully equal. This mentality is systematic and pervasive. The governing laws can not be equal when outcomes differ wildly based on the race of the people involved. There is something wrong and it needs to be fixed.

This does not mean the people who want to "fix" this, want to take anything away from White America. Remember, a judicial system built to truly reflect equality, regardless of the race of the people involved, is a benefit to the nation as a whole.

FYI: It doesn't matter if folks agree or disagree with my assessment/comment. My son, an American soldier, is prepared to take a bullet to insure we each enjoy the freedom to continue this conversation.