When is Race Never
Going to be an Issue?
Part1
This is a
touchy subject and probably better left alone, but heck in some ways my race
and gender is always under attack and forced to defend our actions, and yet
though I am a male white Caucasian, or cracker as some folks refer to us, I
still think I have a right to an opinion about the subject. Recent black male
deaths the shooting in Missouri and the death of a cigarette salesman in new
York City has lead everyone to believe this is perpetrated by the white
population against the black population in an ongoing process of biased police
work, that perpetuates into more black deaths as a result of police violence in
racially charged scenarios that really don’t work out well.
They say we have
a tendency to make rash generalizations about the black community, and here is
where the problem of race develops. it is a people issue rather than a race issue. It isn’t that a person’s rights are
violated because as soon as an incident happens,and it is a white officer
against a black person it is always a race issue. It wasn't because the white or Caucasian officers were assholes violating a person’s civil rights. Instead we always have to be reminded that it
is a race issue by those who really would like to be treated as equal, but at
same time they really like letting people know that they have an excuse. they are oppressed because are
in the wrong place, at the right time doing the wrong things. It’s as if by their
actions, circumstance seems to come into play more often than not.
What happened to
the boy in Missouri was sad, as well the child in Cleveland who was shot no
more than 2 seconds after the law rolled into the park. Several things have
happened as a result of this child’s death and I believe the parent is somewhat
responsible in part of this. allowing your child to have a toy gun that looks like the real thing is a cause of concern to me. not knowing your child has one is a problem also.To lay blame on her solely is wrong and hopefully
changes will result in how the police handle calls like this, to ascertain what
is going on before shots are fired. A lot of fault and finger pointing is
unfortunately not going to bring back the young man. There are no do overs in a
death. Also one more death that deeply disturbs me more than any other, and
that was the death of the man for selling cigarettes by choke hold on behalf of
the police officer trying to subdue the overweight, out manned , and harassed
individual, for the tax man’s benefit. When taxes become so important to
society that we have to resort to denying a person a right to life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness in order to make sure the tax collector is able to
get all he is due then sadly we are going to hell in a hand basket. The right
to hassle the man came directly from orders from a supervisor, and eventually
on up the chain of command to the mayor, and then the council themselves, to be
responsible to the rest of the taxpayers, all they are due on behalf of those
who also pay taxes for cigarettes legally. To allow one or a few or hundred run
free for not paying their taxes is undoubtedly a crime that carries the death
penalty when administered by the hands of the saviors of the people.
In all this I
have talked about in the last paragraph I have purposely left out their race
but you knew what their race was after watching it on media outlets, but let’s
say for instance either side would not mention race or you knew nothing about
their race. How would you feel about an overzealous police officer who after being
involved in a scuffle with a young large adult that was somewhat aggressive and
was a possible suspect in the theft of a box of cigarillos and you observed him
walking in the middle of the street with a friend? This young fellow when told
to use the sidewalks responded in a threatening way, causing the officer enough
alarm to grasp his sidearm, and in the process, the youth thinking he was going
to be arrested or shot defends himself by reaching into the officers car trying
to grab the gun, and when he did the officer attempted to fire his weapon in
defense, and shot the youth who turned and ran although injured. The officer
exited his vehicle and gave chase. The youth in an effort to save himself after
running stops, turns and raises his arms even after being shot once, and returns
and approaches the officer with his hands raised in a symbol showing his hands
empty, and the officer unloads his weapon into the youth who he can see is
unarmed and had never used a gun against the officer. If you didn’t know he is
white or black or the officer is black and the perpetrator was white, had your
thoughts about the outcome been any different. Would it be a race issue? If you
had never known the color they were, it would not have been a race issue. If
you know the color it still is an issue.
We are wired
that way and if you expect anything to change soon forget it. People of color
don’t want us to forget and although we would like to as white folks, deep down
it is hard to just accept those outside our normal family units. What is
normal? Well that is changing
drastically as the numbers of mixed families are increasing daily; we even have
a president that also does not want us to forget that side of his family that was
oppressed. What about the white side of his family. ? I mean if you are the president,
do you have an internal struggle within yourself to voice opinions against
being biased, while the other side of your same family unit is the one denying
of civil liberties such as life itself? To not be condemned to die because of
the denial of an official servant of the people to allow you to have your day
in court, instead taking your life denying you a chance to have due process of
law. He was guilty of stealing cigarillo’s from a store owner by force. But nowhere
did he use a gun in the act of the crime he was accused of, but still he was
shot several times by the officer before given a chance to tell his side of the
story.
Let me propose a
scenario and see what you think. Assuming that anytime you are stopped by an
officer and the first thing you think is, I did something wrong. You search
your mind and retrace your actions prior to being stopped because you know
before he even approaches you; it is in your mind already that, you have done
something wrong. Now if you are in a downtown area somewhat rundown, more so
since the riots and he wheels his car in front of you because you live in a
slum and sidewalks are almost nonexistent for the folks who use and need them
most often, and the fact it is easier to walk on a road than a sidewalk. You have just robbed a store and tensions are
high as the overzealous officer orders you out of the road, and on to the side
walk to be detained. When you refuse as you know you have the evidence on you
and he insists, you can feel the tensions are high between you. Instead of
staying in his car or remaining out of reach of the young man and just observe
him till backup arrives, the officer decides to exacerbate the situation by
either trying to exit his vehicle or by waving his gun, we will never know for
sure, but somehow a struggle ensues. This is where things are real gray. I mean
how the officer knew for sure the young guy was in fact the same one who had just
robbed a store. And how is it he would allow the youth to get so close to his
car to allow the youth to be shot at the door of the car. Did the youth say something
to irritate the policeman and suddenly the youth leaned in to restrain the
officer from shooting him? We don’t know, my question is why the officer
escalated the situation instead of just observing the individual from a
distance in the safety of his vehicle till a second officer arrived.
Once shots were
fired and the youth ran, the officer exited his vehicle and pursued the youth,
the whole situation was a wreck waiting to happen and I believe the youth did
indeed try and turn and give up once he was shot, but the officer knew he had
erred and that the only good victim is a dead victim. He can’t tell lies and the
law is more often than not going to protect the officer. They did. Suddenly it
was if all the progress we had made in race relations went poof. It just
disappeared and we were suddenly thrown back into those dark ages of equal
rights for blacks.
Believe me race
inequality has been ongoing for years, and I am a product of reverse discrimination
if there has ever been one. Good jobs were hard to find as I grew up and by
good jobs I mean jobs that paid well and were union sponsored or were factory
jobs also covered by an equal rights provision that required minorities to be
hired in proportion to the population statistics when several candidates were
available. If you were in a minority you were granted extra points on a civil service
exam, so that if by chance another person would have the same score on the
civil service exam then this person would be selected based solely on his score
and the fact he was a minority. Even white women stood a better chance to
obtain work than I had at times. I am not saying this wasn’t deserved by the
minorities, but nowhere along in the last 40 years has it been, that being
hired into a good job was solely dependent as to whether you were the best fit
for that job regardless of the color of your skin. In fact for me to be given a
chance at a lot of jobs I would have had to be exceptional in all I did, or own
the company I was trying to work for or accept management positions that were
more based on individual effort.
Laws were
written whereas contracts are required to hire contractors who abide by
equality rules and these were given a preference in contract negotiations. It
was not that they were the cheapest contractor or the smartest but instead
because they had fulfilled the quotas as described by the contract documents.
We are never allowed to forget there is a difference between the races and so
we remember. You remember because you also were oppressed because of the color
of your skin also. So has equal opportunity really worked to ease race
relations or has it favored one group more than another, and do two wrongs make
a right?
It is hard for me to forget because every
time some overzealous white officer kills a black person it is a race problem.
Every time there is a government contract to do certain work or provide
supplies to a governmental agency, even if I owned a company and was a
taxpayer. I still couldn’t do it, why because I have none of the minorities
working for me or I can’t authenticate my equality records to qualify myself
for that work. I remember who gets special privileges and a governmental agency
to assure those records are complete that is if I was a minority covered under contract
terms, also I would be given a preference if the contract is close because I am
a minority contractor. I remember what it is like to be outside that bubble. I
remember every time you look in a courtroom or jail that consumes an unequal
amount of my taxpayer dollars to support those individuals set to task with the
unequal proportion of crime and violence perpetrated by the various races, but
not as much by white Caucasians in proportion. Crimes committed
disproportionately in the first place against their own race of sexual trade,
unlawful acts of society that are condemned by all but perpetrated by a few. These
result in later incarceration for serious crimes in prison systems throughout
our nation. I remember that they were gave a chance to get ahead but insist on
making the same mistakes resulting in the same old shit all over again.
They say if the
definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over again and expecting
different results. So if you were born in a ghetto and you needed to get out
and were caught stealing. Do you blame it on white folks or any other color of
choice to avoid blaming yourself for never getting ahead? If you would have
asked for a job before stealing the cigarillo’s and the guy said no you are black then you may
have a better excuse to steal, still it is no excuse except to commit a crime,
just blame yourself for not trying and strive to do better.
This is the same
with race. As long as there is a color to blame it on we will always have a
race problem. Maybe through years of interbreeding and legislation we can
eventually make it less of a problem. Still we identify with our roots and at
times celebrate our individuality in society as we observe traits and customs
of our elders. Santa Claus has to be a problem with some people of African
descent. Some traditions have been migrated into our everyday life with no problems;
others have been slower to accept. It is still hard for a white person to
identify with Martin Luther King but still what he fought for in civil rights
applies in reverse to white folks and all races equally, yet we find it hard to
celebrate his birthday, though it is a national holiday.
When I say as long
as we have a color to blame race on, we will always have a problem, what if we
didn’t have a color to blame it on? What if we say the social experiment of
equal rights needs to take the next step in transforming itself? What if no
color was favored? I mean we do away with the minority part of equal rights and
assume all people are created equal according to the constitution would this
relieve some part of the problem we are having with society . What if when we
had a child shot in Cleveland we couldn’t use the adjectives black, African American,
white Hispanic or any other term besides what we know for sure, and that is
adult or child, male or female, as to where they came from that is acceptable
as long as it is general in nature. So we have a male youth in a park, using or
waving what looks like a replica handgun at the general public in a threatening
manner.
This sounds a lot
different than a black youth was shot. This is an example of what I am talking
about. You are not 35 years old, you are mature adult. Names of people would be
ok as long as it is public record. But when it comes to age you are either
infant young or adult. General terms need to be applied to all individuals
regardless of the heinous crime they may have committed to prevent bias in all
future or present litigation or incarceration. If you are foreign nationality
or a terrorist pledging allegiance to another country you have no rights except
those guaranteed by the Miranda decision, maybe with one more requiring a
notification of immigration authorities and proper action regarding the offence
committed.
What if since we
all have an equal chance and should be proportionate in wealth as well as
poverty of white versus black or any other color of the rainbow , and how the
white population is declining and soon becoming a minority where other races
are now on the verge of possibly becoming a majority that a person no longer
requires preferential treatment regardless whether they are a minority in job
specifications and all races are treated equally in job search qualifications
as well as in college placement and civil service exams. Since we have not
qualified race as a potential for defamation in regards to crime, the same can
be equally applied to all peoples. Requirement of handicap or information
regarding age, sex, are also excluded from the job application process. You cannot
discriminate because a person is certain race or was handicapped or had any other
requirement to make them any less than equal to all other applicants’ according
to the constitution. Where it says all men are created equal.
I have been
accused of being an idealist numerous times, and I suppose a society where race
or sex does not have equal bearing offering no advantage nor giving it a
disadvantage would be an ideal society to have. Where a person was hired or
sentenced to jail on the strengths or the weaknesses of his convictions
respectively. Where effort and individuality are rewarded instead of lumped together
in a class whether it is advantaged or disadvantaged and trying to walk a tight
rope of constant effort to try and maintain a balance of equableness out of it.
To not slip too far in both directions and plunge into a quagmire much like we
have today. When we take away the rewards of being a minority we begin to heal
as a people in regards to one minority or the other receiving special benefits.
The only situation I can see for intervention is flagrant cases of abuse or
intimidation, and when it applies to the handicapped or where there is a
flagrant abuse of discrimination applied to any race in particular. Within
reason we should find a place in our society to skillfully employ the handicapped
where possible. Some were injured as a result of birth, accident, or illness
and each needs a chance to be self-supporting if they choose to. If not they
should be allowed to have a chance at living comfortably their lives, and again
within reason, be supplied with the tools to make it happen. A house, land
enough to have garden and medical care to assure they can live as comfortably as
one can expect considering their individual needs.
If you are old
and have worked most of your life and need help, efforts should be made also to
help that portion of people. Mentally ill with qualifications should also be
taken care of, if they are threat to themselves and to others. All people will
have equal chances at work regardless of your medical condition if you desire
to work. Respectively I feel we would have a decrease in those we support and
more monies would be available to make the changes in our society to support
those that really need it if we do away with the affirmative action plan as established
by Congress. Think of all the programs that will be affected by this maneuver
just by saying race doesn’t matter. Contracts would be cheaper as we allow a
greater percentage of companies to compete for the same tax dollars spent on
public improvements. Lawyers are the ones to find maybe decrease in revenue, but then I am sure that
an employment test to assure the right candidate was picked for a job that did
not discriminate, sort of litmus test will still be used and litigated on.
Discrimination will
no doubt be used as it still is under current rules. Some jobs are never filled
or sub-contractors are used to fulfill the need of a company in order to
purposely avoid hiring of certain races or people now on a permanent basis. Temporary
agencies and their work agreements allow an employer to check out a potential
employee and either create a position for him or deny him after the temporary
contract expires. I am sure there are ways to work around equal employment now.
As an example Asplundh hires tree trimmers and a lot of them are Mexican and if
the same Mexican or Latino person applied for a job with the electric company
they are trimming trees for, then I am sure that hiring of new workers at the
power company would suddenly dwindle, or they would use a temp agency to
fulfill their short term needs.
It is only
reaffirming what we have known all along if you cut me and another minority, we
are still human underneath and bleed the same. If you recognize race and all
its inequalities as well making amends for those who don’t observe, as well for
those who do, then we will never be over this race issue. If and when we as a
people recognize we are all equal humans then no one can feel slighted when it
comes to fair application of the law. You did this, you deserve this, whether
we fill our prisons full of one color or not, should never make a difference,
if they are wrong.
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