In light of recent events, I though it might be wise to take a few minutes and jot down some thoughts, if not for the sake of my family, but for me as well... writing sometimes helps me think through complex issues in more detail than I otherwise have a tendency to do.
I can't think of anything in recent memory that has divided this country as much as this issue. It is tearing families apart as I write this... including my own. Unfortunately, I think one of the biggest issues making this such a morass is that we are simply talking past each other.
The over-arching issue is racism in the U.S., and around the world. The very word "racism" means different things to different people, depending on the age in which they have lived. For instance, I was born in 1957, before the Civil Rights Movement, which really didn't grow legs until the 1960's. When I was born, there were still "colored only" drinking fountains, bathrooms, and segregation was still very much the norm, even though Brown v. Board of Education had been argued 3 years before I was born.
The early 60's brought the issue to a head, and the end of many of the Jim Crow laws. This view of racism among those who lived during that era has an unfortunate tendency to color our understanding of racism as it is experienced and perceived today. In our current day, compared to the 1950's, racism is non-existent as we knew and experienced it. For today's demographic, however, "racism" has a completely different connotation than we had, and I think that has contributed to many disconnects.
Today, racism is of a different variety and expression than it was when I was young. It is experienced by a variety of different races in different locales, depending on demographics... there is racism by whites towards blacks, racism towards Latinos by non-Latinos, and yes, racism against whites by blacks (and to a much lesser extent) Latinos. It is not limited to one group or demographic. Ostensibly, this is why some people insist that "All Lives Matter." And all lives DO matter. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect, regardless of the color of their skin. Latinos don't deserve to be racially profiled in East LA. Blacks deserve not to be racially profiled in Chicago. And so on and so on.
The matter gets even murkier when, as recent studies have concluded, based on law enforcement data, that there is no systemic racism in law enforcement... which has been the very foundation and flashpoint of the riots that have swept the country, and many parts of the world. It is confusing for many. How can there be this much hurt and pain and evidence of mistreatment, when the data says otherwise? Who is to be believed?
Here's the disconnect, as I see it... your mileage may vary, of course.
The perception (and I believe reality) of wide-spread racism is of such a type in most cases that it never "qualifies" for the data points kept and analyzed by the FBI, and the DOJ... therefore is not recognized as the massive issue that it is. Those who deny that such racism exists point to these studies as proof of their position. I know, because I was one of them.
After careful consideration, however, I came to the conclusion that the undeniable reality is that those who have been brutalized or harassed by police as a result of the color of their skin have experienced very real, very quantifiable racism... consistently and frequently. And to them, the arguments against systemic racism are not only insulting, but deeply personal and painful as well. It's as if their experiences, humiliation, pain, and hurt are being dismissed, minimized and discounted instead of acknowledged, considered, and addressed.
Now. I have a lot of heartburn with the Black Lives Matter organization per se. The founders have admitted that it was created as a Marxist anti-Police organization, which ideologies I do not agree with or endorse. But it is serving as a rallying point for a very wide-spread, and long-overdue effort to bring these issues to the forefront of a national consciousness so that it can stop being minimized and dismissed.
In discussing this today, my sweet, wise wife reminded me of the Parable of the Lost Sheep. Because one sheep was lost didn't mean that the 99 didn't matter. It meant that the Shepherd needed to stop... drop what He was doing, and rescue the 1 in order for the flock to be whole. I think sometimes we get caught up thinking, "Oh, well.. we have 99 out of 100... that's not bad."
Our black brothers and sisters should not have to be afraid when they are pulled over, or when they have interactions with police. No one should. But right now, they're the ones who need to be rescued.
