I would offer this as an observation. I have a friend who retired two years ago. He was sixty five. With children, and grand children. He did a tour in the Army, then he became a Master Mechanic, and finally worked with me for another twelve years before he retired for good. This is a man who by any stretch of the definition, is hard working, dedicated, and a good family man. He’s still married to the wife of his youth, and the mother of his children. His kids are married, and producing the next generation.
Now imagine his life. In the 1960’s, he was a teenager, and Segregation was the law of the land. While it wasn’t the official policy, nor were laws written down saying, honestly killing a Black was a crime that would not get anyone punished Providing they were white.
Join the Army, and saw the end of the Vietnam era. Came home to race issues. Police would pull him over to see if he owned the car he drove. He worked as a Mechanic, and fixed cars, and of course, fixed his own, and had them shining like a new penny. All so he could be harassed by the police to see if he was stealing.
Then his kids grow up and start driving. Dad teaches his boys about cars, and they work on them. They get those cars looking and driving nice. And are pulled over in the 1980’s wondering if the cars were stolen, or perhaps they are dealing drugs.
The rage. The hopelessness, the powerless feeling you must endure in that situation. The Grandkids start to experience the exact same thing. Times have changed we’re told. But have they? The kids today are dealing with slightly watered down versions of the same bullshit. Oh the Police may not call them the N word to their face, but the attitude is there.
If a Black Man is driving a good car, it must be stolen. Another friend restored a Mercedes AMG Coupe. Stripped it down to the frame, and rebuilt it out. It took two years, and a good deal of money, and probably several hundred hours of work to do the job. But that car purred like a contented cat. It was beautiful, shiny paint, looking nice. He had to park that car. Not because of anything wrong with it. But he told me that nearly every time he drove it a cop would pull him over to discuss where he got the car.
I saw it more than once myself. Tags were good, flowing with traffic below the speed limit. Not changing lanes, we got pulled over. Black man in an expensive car, something has to be wrong am I right?
When the cop pulled us over, and asked if we knew why he had pulled us over. I couldn’t resist any longer. I said. “You guys found that TV that was stolen from my place three years ago and couldn’t wait to tell me?”
No, it was supposedly window tint. The cop checked, and the machine determined the tint was legal. The cop said that he hoped we had a nice day. The windows were obviously not tinted too much, it was a lame assed excuse to come and talk to us.
I honestly have no idea how my friends endured this. I have no idea how anyone is expected to endure this.
But each incident. Each event, is a tiny little prick on the skin. At first it is a tiny pinch of minor annoyance. But each week, each year, the tiny little gnat bites add up, and become a much larger annoyance. Until finally they are infuriating.
That frustration, that rage, and the kids and grand kids hearing how this is no different now than it was when my friends were young. The excuses they hear to justify it. Oh the African American community is the most criminal. They just need to understand that the Police are doing a tough job. Hey, if they have nothing to fear, they should have nothing to hide.
It is the same excuses that we heard when justifying why Blacks would be prohibited from Voting. Or why Desegregation was a bad idea. The blacks were just too savage, too barbaric, to be let in amongst the good people.
So are all Whites Racist? Not even close. A vast majority aren’t. But those who are, tend to more than make up for those who are not. I for one do not wish to be associated with those racist jackasses. Frankly, I dread the idea that they have children, infecting the population with more of their diseased minds. I also do not like the nonsense any Racists put out.
I can treat people, like people. I can treat them like people, and wait and see what they do. Oh I am supposed to be afraid? Why? I’ve been around Blacks all my life. Most are people just trying to make it the same as me. But for some reason, I am supposed to be suspicious of them.
When will it improve? When we stop seeing Black Men, and start seeing Men who are Black. When we stop seeing White Men, and start seeing Men who are White. When we see the person first, instead of the color, we can see improvement. That is literally all it takes.