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chriswellz · 8 years

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Racism

These comments on social media aren't that shocking. I'm not surprised. I can explain why though. This is very long but I can explain why cognitive dissonance kicks in when non-blacks in this country read about our point of view. And let me make myself perfectly clear, what I am about to say is not subjective, it is objective based on empirical evidence throughout my experiences and throughout the experiences of others, studies and research that have confirmed its validity.

Our country is westernized. I was watching this video of this white guy who is a anti-racist advocate. His name is Tim Wise. He said he went to this event that were talking about culture. And whether you were White, Black, Asian or Latino, they wanted to know what was it about your culture that you found empowering. He noticed that the vast majority of those who were white in attendance had very little of interest to share.

They took out these big pieces of news print paper and put them on the wall and they asked, "Black folks, what do you like about being Black?". The Black folks were writing stuff of all kinds of good things. "Perseverance of my people", "The inability to quit", "The constant struggle" and "The success despite of the odds" and all of these wonderful and internal things about strength and fortitude and perseverance.

They asked other folks of color the same question and most of those of color who weren't black had similar answers. Then they asked White folks "What do y'all like about being White?" and you could have heard a pin drop. There was this silence that was sort of like "Hmmm well... I don't know." And most of them were like, "I never really thought of that before." So let's think about what THAT means, right? And then people started coming up with answers like, "I like the fact that I don't get stopped by police on suspicion of having done something wrong." "I like the fact that I don't get racially profiled when I'm at the department store." "I like the fact that when I go to the bank to get a loan, they don't look at my race and assume that I'm a bad credit risk." I like the fact that I don't face this, this, this, this and this and what was deep to Tim about that was once you start to see the list on the wall and what was really heavy was, the Black folks and other people of color have got these really internal lists that they're proud of, that they really feel good about! And the White folks lists, it isn't about internal stuff, it isn't about them at all. It's not about what they like about being White, it's about what they like about NOT being Black or Brown. And if you define yourself as a negative, by what you are not, you're screwed. Those responses confirmed that there is this awareness in the country of White people that are fully aware of the issues that black, brown and people of color in general experience that they have the luxury of not experiencing. They are confirming White Privilege. Even when they got into ethnic stuff they should be proud of. Like "What do you like about being Irish-American or Italian-American" and people didn't really have good answers.

So he went to south Boston in early 2000 which is historically an Irish community. So he asked White Irish Americans under the age of 40 "What do you like about being Irish?" And they were like,"....Uhhh I don't know.....Food, family and faith?" And that was it. So he went to Bensonhurst which is historically Italian American community in Brooklyn. So he asks the Italian folk "What do y'all like about being Italian American?" And they're like, "....Uhhh I don't know.....Food, family and faith?" So Tim is thinking "So wait a min, if FOOD makes you Irish AND it makes you Italian, then we're ALL Irish and Italian...because EVERYBODY eats....And if family makes you Irish and Italian, then we're all Irish and Italian since EVERYBODY has family. And if faith makes you Irish and Italian, then the majority of humanity is Irish and Italian since the majority of humans have a belief system!" and at some point, those answers suck! And those people's grandparents would have been like "Is that ALL!?" because they know that there's more to it than that. They knew it was a deeper culture, but unfortunately (and here goes my point) this is what "Whiteness" did to European people. What Whiteness did to people of European decent was it forced them to give away their actual heritage, their actual culture, their actual history.

But black people are not like that. We embrace our culture and our history, but the "Whiteness" in our country is trying to force us to give up our culture and conform to their Whiteness/Westernize ways. They're suggesting that we're "the same" and not different internally and externally. That we all face the same experiences. That's not an opinion, that's a fact based on empirical evidence. And a lot of white people blame US for this.

He said this Nazi sitting in the 3rd row of an event he had in North Carolina and he knew he was a Nazi because he was a skinhead and he had swastikas on his jacket. And the Nazi was like, "I'M JUST ANGRY Y'KNOW? GOING TO HIGH SCHOOL I HAD TO LEARN ALL ABOUT BLACK HISTORY AND I HAD TO LEARN ABOUT LATINO HISTORY AND I HAD TO LEARN ABOUT ASIAN HISTORY AND I NEVER LEARNED ABOUT MY PEOPLE'S HISTORY!"

And Tim is like, "We're in Pembroke North Carolina, stop lying! They didn't teach you that. They didn't teach you Black, Asian and Latino history and ignored White people in Pembroke NC."

The Nazi was like "NO, REALLY! THAT'S ALL WE LEARNED. IT WAS SHOVED DOWN OUR THROATS. I NEVER LEARNED ABOUT SCANDINAVIAN HISTORY! THAT'S MY PEOPLE! I NEVER LEARNED ABOUT SCANDINAVIANS!"

Tim was like, "Okay, so what is it you wished that they taught you? What do you know about Scandinavian folk that you don't feel was covered?"

and the Nazi was like, "THAT'S THE PROBLEM! I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"

Tim asked, "So what, your folks didn't tell you?" and the Nazi says "NO! THEY DIDN'T TELL ME ANYTHING! THEY JUST DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO OFFER! THEY JUST DIDN'T AND YOU KNOW, I JUST THOUGHT, Y'KNOW THE SCHOOLS!"

So Tim says, "Now see this is the problem. We're having an argument about why you're so angry, I don't blame you for being angry. You don't even know who you are. You don't know your heritage, you don't know your culture, you don't know your history. That's gotta be horrible! I agree with you, that's terrible. But here's what I know, Black people didn't take that from you! Latino folk and Asian folk and Indigenous Native North American folk did not take that from you. They didn't have the power to take that from you. You know what took that from you? Whiteness took that from you. Because Whiteness told your ancestors when they came here to give up on all that and not tell their children and their grandchildren, so that they could become White and get all the goodies that come from that. And y'all got jacked! Your culture now is missing and now you feel empty and instead of being angry along WITH People Of Color towards Whiteness that eradicated your actual cultural heritage, you're mad at People Of Color instead who had nothing to do with that. Who wins in that situation? Certainly not you, certainly not folks of color, just the folks who want to maintain Whiteness as a system."

This system of Whiteness is trying to rob us Black folk of our heritage, culture and history. They don't want us to talk about what our ancestors went through and they certainly don't want us to talk about what we're going through right now. Because they don't think the problems we're talking about exist. They give us ONE MONTH to educate minorities on black history? So what are the other 11 months for? Their history of colonization and their mission to get away from their culture. The westernized culture in this country is about eradicating culture, not accepting others.

Watch the video here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzF9zjNdYnM

So yeah, that's why.

And a lot of white folks think that when black folks talk about "Whiteness", they think we're talking about white people. We're not. We're talking about a system that exists in this country that's trying to eradicate diversity for the benefit of white people and their narrative.

So when we see videos, pictures and articles like this that address this problem and we start talking about race and how we're treated differently, arguments like the ones in these comments comes up that defends this system.

Why does this behavior exist? I'll tell you why. Let's talk about science.

In 2014: According to a research summary by Stanford University's Recruitment to Expand Diversity and Excellence Program, 75% of Whites and Asians demonstrated an implicit bias in favor of Whites compared to Blacks. In other words, despite your best intentions, you might be a little bit racist. (Similar unconscious biases have been documented in people's views of those of different genders, the elderly, and other groups.) And why do these split-second negative responses exist? The underlying problem is that our brains have evolved to see patterns in things that are complex, and to categorize the world in order to simplify it. Thus, when we encounter another person, our brains rapidly and subconsciously try to figure out if he or she is friend or foe: in-group or out-group. We make these calculations based on many factors, but if we know very little about the person, we often categorize people based on race. What tells us how to do so? The culture in which we live. According to David Amodio, (the scientist who was responsible for conducting this experiment) while a general categorizing tendency has been with us for "as long as there has been a human mind," the specific categories that we use—Latino, black, white, Asian American, and so on—and how we feel about them, are a social phenomenon. As such, they're heavily shaped by the strong prevalence of stereotypes in our society, stereotypes that are so common that even children pick them up at a very young age.

Source: http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/05/inquiring-minds-david-amodio-your-brain-on-racism

These implicit biases have a huge roll in how people deal with other people in their everyday lives. They are in every single socioeconomic class. From our neighborhoods, our schools, our teachers, our hospitals, our doctors, our courts, our judges, our lawyers, our mayors, our government, our members of congress, our police force, our military, every aspect to the country. The biggest misconception is what does this mean when varying different races? The difference is who has the most power in the country to make the out-group less fortunate due to these biases. They're subtle, but they exist and are happening all around us in the country. As long as we view the world with our own experiences, failings and achievements, we'll never see that some people are not only treated unfairly compared to you, but that if they somehow did the exact same thing as you in life, they wouldn't succeed as quick or nearly not at all. The biggest issue is that the majority of humans in this country aren't even aware of this innate behavior to begin with. Thus, never willing to solve the problem. For those who are aware of racism, they force themselves to believe that solving this problem would be to stop talking about it. In their mind, addressing a problem creates the problem.

Most of them are like "My God! Look at how far we've come. We have a Black president, everything's cool." To them, obviously, you can't have a racism problem if there's a man of color in the white house. Except of course you can because I'm assuming all the women in this country know that just because Benazir Bhutto (a woman) was elected not once, but twice in Pakistan did not eliminate patriarchy and misogyny in Karachi. I assume you know that the election of women in heads of state in Israel, India, Great Britain, The Philippians and Ireland in addition to Pakistan did not end sexism, misogyny, patriarchy or rape culture in those places. But we(America) act like somehow the elevation of an individual of color in a country that was previously so intently set on White supremacy somehow proves the death of White supremacy. It doesn't mean that any more than those women's elevation in those places proves the end of sexism. But we act like it did. Or people would say things like, "Well... It's not that racism is dead...it's just...we really shouldn't talk about it." "Well...you know...It's not that it's not out there, it's just that we shouldn't talk about it and...make it worst." Folks actually believed that, who were at a university, how did y'all get into college? I'm just being honest, I'm not trying to be an asshole, I'm just saying like, if you actually think talking about social problems makes them worst, I'm really sort of worrying about your academic qualifications. I'm just being honest with you, I'm not pulling any punches. Like, if you actually think that talking about social problems makes them worst, why don't we test that theory. It's real easy to test. Let's pretend we're not talking about racism and White supremacy, let's pretend we're talking about world hunger. And let's say that I've started off my talk by mentioning that there are probably a billion and a half, two billion people in this world who are starving right now for lack of adequate nutrition. Who the hell among you is going to jump out of your seat and be like, "Shhhhhh! Don't talk about that, fool! If you talk about world hunger, children will die! That's how that works. You say it, and they die! On the other hand if you would just stop talking about that, FOOD would magically appear on their plates because it's a miracle!" ...Who the hell would say that? Nobody would say that! But that's what we do about racism. "Well if you talk about it, it just makes it worst." That's like blaming the speedometer on your car for the speeding ticket that you just got. The speedometer did not cause you to go 80 in a 65, it just transmitted certain information to you. That's all we're trying to do with this dialogue in this discussion. It's all Black people are trying to do with the discussion about Whiteness and the problematizing of Whiteness. The conversation didn't cause the problem, the problem necessitated the conversation. So let's not get it backwards, right? But apparently, as a country, we're not ready for that. So they justify and rationalize how they view it individualistically. They use statistics poorly without ever considering rates and asking the proverbial question "Well, why?"

In a much simpler way of explaining it.

You own a farm, you have 500 potatoes in a field and 100 cabbages in a field. You lost 100 potatoes and you lost 50 cabbages. Which one did you lose more? The cabbages. Why? Because you lost HALF of your cabbages. Thus! your cabbages being in more danger. You only lost 1/5th of your potatoes. No, it's not saying that the lost potatoes aren't important, but your cabbages are endangered, not your potatoes. You lost 50% of your cabbages, you lost 20% of your potatoes. It's simple mathematics.

Now I don't even need to break this down with White people and Black people. If you understood half of what I just said, cognitive dissonance shouldn't occur. Although, it's quite plausible that happened as soon as I began my talk. Face the facts that black people unarmed are 3 to 4 times more likely to be killed by police than white people. That is a fact, not an opinion. And even if they weren't innocent, a speeding ticket or resisting arrest DOES NOT DESERVE THE DEATH PENALTY! It is un-American to think that way. And believe it or not, we actually DO have a right to resist arrest if we feel that the arrest is unjustified and it is up to the police to find out if it is or not. A lot of White people would argue "12 year old Autumn Pasquale was murdered by two Black men and stuffed in a trash can for her bicycle in 2013. How long did you hear about her and did anyone riot and protest?" Here's my answer. No one rioted because the murderers in question got 17 years in prison for the crime, at the murderers also wasn't someone who swore to protect citizens and uphold the law. and on top of that, no one dug up history on this white girl to make her seem like the aggressor or responsible for her death. Justice was served. That's why there were no riots. Why not the people saying such things just admit that they hate black people and give it a rest? Because you don't actually CARE about that white girl. She doesn't matter to you at all. This only exists as a shitty and cruel strawman argument attempting to invalidate the emotions of black people to further demonize them.

You see how easy that is to understand? And we can't talk about black on black crime, because white on white crime shows the same numbers as a whole. What we can point out is a group of people who are sworn to protect terrorizing these other groups of people and come up with some reliable data to determine which group is more likely to be killed as opposed to the other group. It's simple mathematics and I hope you're smart enough to at least acknowledge it without cognitive dissonance kicking in.

Police should use their gun as a last resort. Even our own military uses their firearms as a last resort. They go through every conceivable option and use procedure before shooting. The fact of the matter is, we have more trigger happy/fearful policemen that shouldn't be on the force than cops who are actually doing the right thing. And don't get me started on the blue wall of silence, which pretty much confirms that THE MAJORITY of police officers in this country are "bad people"... It contradicts everything they stand for. Ask any police officer about the blue wall of silence and they will pull the straw-man argument and red herrings to avoid the subject. It's one of their biggest logical fallacies. The only time they will address it for what it is, is after they retire or resign from the force. There is PLENTY of information on the internet that shows you ex-cops pointing out the messed up things that they've done and seen.

Just do yourself the favor and start asking questions and not defending things that only make sense to you as you are now. World is much much colder and believe it or not, Black people have been right all along when they point these things out. Did you know that they are JUST NOW admitting that the war on drugs was specifically designed to target black people and other people of color? Did you know that people are just now finding out that the laws set in motion to make marijuana illegal is all pseudoscience and made up? And that those laws were created specifically to imprison Black people? It's not even a secret anymore and if you would just look this stuff up, think logically and clearly, you just might (hate to be cliche) WAKE THE HELL UP!

And don't get me started on the group of people who say "All Lives Matter!" as a response to the Black Lives Matter movement. it doesn't change the fact that even though all lives DO matter, our country CLEARLY shows us that it doesn't. "Black lives matter" will always be a movement that is trying to establish inclusion TO MAKE "all lives matter"... When someone says "All lives matter" as a response to someone saying "Black lives matter", they are without a doubt denying the experiences of black people who are clearly being treated differently than the majority. Those against that statement would say, "I'm white and I struggle too!" it's different. It just is. That white person struggling is MORE LIKELY to succeed in life than the black person struggling. If that white person struggling does not accept the existence of white privilege, he/she will always feel they are treated no different than black people.

That's what we do in the schools in this country. We call it 'education', but we indoctrinate students. We teach them how to be good Americans. We teach them a lie in order to guarantee that they're going to be good Americans. This is not teaching, this is not education. To educate someone means to be in the act of leading them out of ignorance. You don't do that by indoctrinating them."

Most people don't understand what racism is. Dr. Joy DeGruy was at a conference in a room filled with black and white people. She asked, "How many people think there are White racist out there?" -most of the room raised their hand- she asked, "How many people think there are Black racist out there?" -most of the White people raised their hand-

DeGruy said, "Now, this is an interesting thing because this becomes important as we begin to define concepts. I usually define concepts all the way, but one of the things that I try to do is I try to help people get a picture of what I mean by racism. First category is White racism, then we'll deal with Black racism. So White racism... Tell me the ways in which White racism adversely impacts the lives of black people. What are the ways that White racism can adversely impact the lives of Black people as a group? What are some of those ways?" Someone said, "Power."

DeGruy said, "But how does that define specifically?" People started saying, "Education" "Economically" "Employment" "Housing" "Policing" "Health Care"

DeGruy said, "Now, we can actually kind of grow that list. Now we're going to move over to Black racism. Tell me the ways in which Black racism adversely impacts the lives of White people as an entire group?" There was silence in the room.

DeGruy said, "Thank you. The reason why you become silent is because one, there's always one that comes up and that's "Fear"... White people are afraid of Black people. They are AFRAID of us and it is a very interesting thing because Black people know it. We know White people are afraid. But you have to start getting into the psychology, what are you afraid of? WHY are you afraid? But it's an interesting dynamic. Now, also you see the difference in racism is, do you not? Racism implies that you not just prejudice, but the power to do something with that prejudice. "Now I don't like you and not only that, I'm going to control whether you can get anything." Now I may say that I hate you. "I hate you, I hateee white peopleeee!! I hate em', I hate em'!" It's not going to change you getting that loan when you go to the bank. I can hate you all the way to the bank. Not going to change. Do you see the difference? That where is White racism says, "Not only do I not like you, but I'm going to change the impact of where you can live! I'm going to determine with that racism where your powers are." You following me? And I'm talking about as a group, not an individual because White people say, "I remember when my uncle didn't....-inserts personal struggle here-" I'm not talking about your uncle, I'm talking about the whole group. I'm not talking about an incident. That's the difference."

Watch the rest of that seminar here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KYug__74TA

I could elaborate on what those powers are specifically, but you should get the gist.

Most people race bait, claim black folks have privilege and say "reverse racism" and the like. Here's a good video talking about race baiting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLgIIjnpZyU

After countless and countless of hours talking to these people, I've come to the conclusion that the reason why racism and these problems exist is because the people who think it doesn't exist. Because they can't see the problem, the problem stays and it multiplies. It is the non-racist and the "colorblindness" folk and the "all lives matter" folk who perpetuate racism.

Sometimes I wonder if we should continue to argue with White people about racial issues https://thoughtforfood.live/2016/08/16/why-its-time-black-people-simply-disengage-with-white-people-in-discussing-race/ but despite the fact that it can be long winded and extremely counter-productive, it is still necessary in order for us to to continue to have these uncomfortable discussions. Cause & effect happens due to these conversations. People who disagree and fight against empirical evidence usually spit out straw man arguments and red herrings. NOT SURPRISED! Like the Terence Crutcher shooting. And even pointing out things which are totally obvious never negate the fact that he had his HANDS UP and was walking AWAY from the officers and still got shot. I don't care what any of you say, compliance or NONCOMPLIANCE will NEVER deserve the death penalty. If noncompliance deserves the death penalty, then any cop in this country who has a son can shoot their kid and within good reason according to you people's logic. "Well, he didn't do what his father told him to do, his father was on duty, saw his son next to the school doing graffiti, told him to stop, he didn't listen, he shot him, that's what he deserves. He didn't listen so....yeah... one less criminal off the street! I mean, maybe his son resented his father and was carrying a gun without his father knowing!!! We don't know all the answers!" That's how dumb you people sound.

And another thing, you know why Tomi Lahren uses so many straw man arguments and red herrings? Because you cannot justify an innocent man being killed! So the only way to do that is to flip the script by mentioning other things to make sense out of it.

Here's what Tomi Lahren does and most people who argue against these issues do.

Person 1: "Climate change is real and we need to take this more seriously." Person 2 (Tomi Lahren): "There is a lot of commotion regarding saving the environment. We cannot make this world an Eden. What will happen if it does become Eden? Adam and Eve got bored there!"

The idea of Adam and Eve getting bored in Eden throws the listeners off the real issue of the environment.

Person 1 asserts proposition X. Person 2 (Tomi Lahren) argues against a superficially similar proposition Y, falsely, as if an argument against Y were an argument against X.

This is what she does, and this is what ALL of you are stupid enough to not notice. This woman puts so much blind trust in our law enforcement and how it deals with investigations when we have so many police officers who've retired and pointed out the corrupt system they had the unfortunate displeasure of experiencing. And yet, ALL of this data, ALL of this scientific discovery in how implicit biases work in this country, the psychology of these people and the cause & effect of what that psychology creates. NONE of this matters. A police officer will kill you off the HUNCH that you MIGHT be dangerous, but a soldier can be THROWN into war and will still follow protocol before pulling that trigger. It is also a fact that the majority of people in the marine corp who sign up to being a police officer is more likely NOT to shoot because they have a fucking brain! And did you know that it is a fact they PREFER you to being stupid to become a cop?

Although it’s not widely known, federal courts have ruled since 2000 that police departments can legally opt to not hire someone simply because he or she scores too high on an intelligence test. The millenium ruling followed a lawsuit filed in 1999 by Connecticut resident Robert Jordan, who was told by the New London Police Department that they only interview candidates who score 20 to 27 points on an intelligence test.

You know why? Because only someone stupid would not question whether they are making the right move in a situation. They're just follow their damn orders and perpetuate the same crap the rest of these trigger happy scary cops are doing out there. If it has NOTHING to do with racism? Then we have an ABUNDANT of scary trigger happy cops and they need to give back their badges. A smart person would question it and ACTUALLY try to change the system to a better one. And this is happening ALL over the damn country! And that's only half the truth. These implicit biases occur when a cop is faced with a black man. They initially believe they are dangerous before even determining whether they are or not.

I could go on and on about this crap! But you know what? You people just won't care. I could give you statistical information the right way and how to view it the right way, I could show you science, I could show you facts, I could show you anything, but you're not going to care, you never will. LUCKILY, your train of mind is on the WRONG side of the country and will eventually die out due to natural selection. So, have as many kids as you want, the side that IS addressing these issues and fighting the good fight are building up in numbers EVERY SINGLE YEAR! SO GOOD LUCK!

If we talk about BLM and ALM, that's another issue. From experience of my own and from the experiences of others who I have talked to, I have NEVER in my entire life since the BLM and ALM movements began, have ever met a person screaming ALM as a means to unite all people. They have ALWAYS said it as a response to silence the voices of black people who address an issue that clearly exists. Whether where it came from, or what is happening out there on the streets in different areas, THE MAJORITY of people who claim ALM? Are living a lie and intently set to debunk black people's experiences.

There was someone in the comments on an article who said that the reason she says All Lives Matter is because she feels that we as a society is past all that. Which is IDEAL, but it's not realistic. We're obviously NOT past all that because if we were, the shit wouldn't be happening.

Both statements are right. They're both true statements and not opposing arguments. But the USE of ALM is predominantly used as an opposing statement. That's something we need to acknowledge. I've seen a guy say black lives matter and a white guy screams as a response "ALL LIVES MATTER! Shut up! You crazy! ALL LIVES MATTER"

It's real and it happens A LOT more than the alternative.

Yes, socially, racism is dying out. But that will take centuries before it will. The racism I'm speaking on is the implicit bias that resides in this country. It is ingrained in our society. This is a level of racism that is virtually undetectable by those who have it. I'm talking about people who claim to not being racist, have black friends and shit, church goers, tax paying honest loving people. This is where racism terrifies me the most. And this is where people are defending it the most. Due to that bias, that is passed on through their children and only natural selection will weed them out. This will take centuries because of the post traumatic slave syndrome black folks carry, and what the system of whiteness has done to European people in America.

People always get statistics wrong when discussing the difference between blacks getting killed by cops vs whites being killed by cops. Blacks are 3-4 times more likely to being killed by cops as opposed to white people. The reason why is because you are looking at the numbers of each population, not the comparing ratios. Our courts give black people longer sentencing and give whites shorter sentencing for the same crime. We're talking about a judge who appears to not being racist at all giving drastic changes in his ruling.

Whites are killed more of their own than blacks. And this isn't because anyone is inherently violent. White people just so happen to be more in population so naturally, there would be more deaths a year (a thousand more in fact)... This is due to the proximity of these homicides. Our country is incredibly segregated. Whites tend to be surrounding by whites and blacks tend to be surrounded by blacks.

Racism is an institution, but it has absolutely NOTHING to do with the image we accept as a society. That is exactly what white people have been talking about this entire time when they oppose these movements. Because regardless of what we accept, don't accept, regardless of what we say exists or say doesn't exists, it does not stop what is actually happening. It's like me shooting you with a gun and a witness says "I saw him shoot him with a gun" and someone blurts out "He didn't shoot him with a gun. He just dropped dead!" If a billion people accept the fact that what the second guy said is true, does not change what actually happened and what will continue to happen.

The black on black crime is an irrelevant thing to talk about because when those people are brought to justice, justice is served. Not to mention the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of black people who DO protest against black on black crime. So it's silly to bring up. But when a cop does the same thing to that black man, justice ISN'T served. That's the difference. Not to mention that white on white crime is equally proportional to that of black on black crime. It's almost ridiculous to bring up.

I'm aware of the three tier caste system. Poor whites are definitely not treated fairly, but they're not black. You take ANY poor white man and any poor black man. Put them in a similar environment with equal education, same jobs in the same area, put them through the same fields, I can guarantee you that the white man will be 10 steps ahead. Why do you think there is only ONE billionaire black person in the country? You don't think that there are MILLIONS of other black people working their asses off to create intergenerational wealth? Investing and trying to open a business? Save up and make the most risk taking sacrifices to live that dream? Where that white man will achieve the American dream at age 40-50, that black man will reach at age 70-80. If that at all.

Now this is in no way suggesting that poor white folks are the enemy, but any one of them who dares to preserve this system we are clearly addressing is.

There is one thing I will say I am certain about... That the reason racism is dying out is because of what black people have been doing in each era. Because of what MLK, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X and so many others standing up for what is right. They instilled a new idea to people, hope... To aspire to a better way of life. That is what they are doing today. Every time we protest, march and address these issues, this system of racism slowly dies out with each generation. I'm also conscious of the other side of that coin who hold onto the system and fear change. They pass on their ideology to their children and thus breeds a whole new collective of bullshit. But luckily, those fighting the good fight are on the winning side.

It seems to be more of a perspective thing. You take any person exposed to this type of stuff, put them in a totally different environment, expose them to different information, it could possibly create a bias. The biggest step is admitting to those biases. We all have them. I have them.

What I'm saying here is that bringing up black on black crime as a rebuttal to black folks addressing racial injustice is irrelevant because when black folks are prosecuted for those actions, that justice is served. It is not when blacks are killed by whites/cops. That makes bringing it up irrelevant. Like seriously, it's that irrelevant. It doesn't negate the issue that is being addressed. It's like me sitting here telling you that I have a plumbing problem in my house. You tell me "But what about that long grass outside?" well, I have a lawnmower and gas for that, but this plumbing issue needs to be addressed because the company is denying me service, but they grant service to White people. That's how irrelevant it is to bring up the grass. The grass is a problem, but it can and will be solved and is already being addressed, the plumbing isn't.

I think it will take centuries because look, it's been 60 years since the end of de jure segregation (not de facto segregation) and we still have these problems. Segregation by practice still exists. Racism by practice still exists.

Also, you HAVE to understand that white supremacy isn't solely about what some one self identifies. Just because someone SAYS and truly believes in their heart they are not racist and not trying to contribute to white supremacy, does not in any way suggest that they aren't involuntarily.

Both the American Flag and the Confederate Flag should be something that black folks should be mad about. And most people don't even know that the democratic and republican parties made a switch after the civil war; making the racist democrats of old the republicans of today.

Not only do Blacks and Whites need to be honest with history, they also need to be honest about racism and the concept of what racism means. Take black racism for example. There is not a single thing a black person can say or feel that will adversely affect white people as an entire group. But white racism can.

I don't support ALM because it ONLY came to be after BLM. And if ALM is what you claim to be, I would gladly accept any citation any of you can show me to confirm that their movement is to protect the rights and lives of all people and not just some silly response to someone addressing black issues.

It took centuries for us to get into this mess, it's going to take centuries to get out. And that is not at all saying that we should just give up, just a reality check of it all. If racism is going to end, then people who address these issues will have to continue. It is the only way to educate our young the right way so we can eradicate it. In order for all lives to matter by practice, then black lives will have to matter too. We are at the bottom of the totem pole. We have poor blacks at the bottom, poor whites in the middle and the white masters at the top. It should not be this way, but it is. That is the three tier caste system. I am FULLY aware of the struggles that are happening with fellow white people, but they have something we do not, white privilege, accessible opportunity at a much faster pace. They can work hard and reap the benefits of it a lot quicker than we can. Black people will never become millionaires in our life time unless we sacrifice at least 60+ years to get it, or get lucky exploiting stereo-types for entertainment media and be the next "lil" rapper. All white folks have to do is put on a suit, speak well and have an impressive resume. They can conform to society and reap the benefits of what the system of whiteness has done to this country. Blacks cannot do that. No matter how well he speaks, no matter how impressive his resume is, no matter how clean he looks, he will still just be another nigga in our country.

We have to be honest about racism. There is a difference! And many of my white friends would attest to that.

A friend of mine who is white told me he was pulled over by the police, they didn't give him any shit! Same cop pulled over his black friend, gave him shit. This is happening on a day to day basis. The implicit bias I was talking about earlier. A white cop sees another white man behind the wheel, his initial response isn't a "threat"...When he sees a black man behind the wheel, his first initial response IS a threat. It could happen as a split second response, but it's there.

These goodhearted hard working well intended people who self identify to not having a racist bone in their bodies are the ones who are doing this to black people the most. And that my friend is why racism will take centuries to end.

People would argue, "Black people degrade their own too!" I can tell you why black people are also saying the same thing about their own... It is BECAUSE of that system. We have been culturally raised by this system of whiteness to be ashamed of ourselves. Why do you think so many black people try to uplift black people for things that you are NATURALLY supposed to do? You see a black man get a job, he gets the biggest of praise. There is a reason why. Because we were told for hundreds of years that we weren't shit, weren't gonna be shit and shouldn't EVER think about being shit. And the majority of us degrade our own, only a select few are trying to uplift our community. And why does that behavior exist? Because of what slavery has done to our people. That is called Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome. And it is in virtually every single one of us.

I'm also not saying that only white cops get away with murdering an innocent black man. I'm saying that the system is murdering innocent black people. A system which is ran predominantly by white people. That system is being preserved. Every time you hear someone defend it or oppose against people pointing it out, that's the preservation. Then it becomes a trend and nobody bats an eye and we get used to it. That is a trait that we all black folks have. We have a level of perseverance in this country no one has (including Native American people and other folks of color)...

We have to change the way the black mind thinks. How do you suppose centuries of indoctrination, nationalism, tribalism and conformity would affect an entire group of people, psychologically? And how do you suppose the actions of those people would be like? Same goes for whites. The cognitive dissonance that they have been using for centuries to justify the ungodly horrifying acts on black people, how do you suppose that would affect the psychology and actions of white people today? Because I'm sure you're aware about how DNA works so I don't even have to explain how things are passed on through generations of people. Did you know that they used to puncture little black infant's skulls with an instrument called the shoemaker's awl? They did this in an effort to realign their skulls based on the indecency and intellectual flaws of their parents? To treat the malady. Of course there were a 100% death rate, but that's what they would stick in the head of a baby at birth. And these are things that are so horrific that we can't possibly wrap our head around it. Imagine me standing in front of you and I just stomped a puppy, like literally STOMPED it to death, how would that make you feel? You would be horrified by that, pissed and probably punch me in the fucking mouth and beat my ass. AND I would probably be arrested faster than killing a black man. But how could they do that back then? What could cause a person to do this to newborn black babies? Do you realize how much dissonance you have to remove in order for you to stick that into the brain of a child? And you know why they did that? Because they believed that black people were not human. It's not different dissecting a frog in science class. That's how we were treated.

Now how do you suppose CENTURIES of that (Including HUNDREDS of different horrific acts) affected the DNA of lives today, White and Black?

And we also have to accept the fact that the system is "people" conducting it. That means when we start talking about mentalities, we are also talking about the systemic. Because only those with that mentality could preserve that systemic.

I could go on and on about this. If we're going to talk about mental, psychological, we have to understand concepts of racism, we have to understand why a system was built DUE to those concepts of racism and the psychological affects given.

Everything is due to prior causes. In fact, it is because of the information you have gained in your life, that caused THE IMPULSE itself for you to even be reading this discussion. And it is due to our personality that we both can have the patience to go back and forth about it without resorting to insults and trash talking. And that's only pertaining to recent events, we're not even talking about what our DNA has in us that causes the behaviors and actions of everyone around us. Let me break it down with a hypothetical.

400 something years ago, a person has an idea that women touching his property is disrespectful to its highest regard.

That person sees a woman touching his car... What happens?

That person gets angry, now he's experiencing emotion, what does he DO with this emotion? What impulse is he experiencing to act on?

Most likely violence to hurt said person touching his car.

Now over the course of 300-400 years, this behavior becomes the norm. It has become socially acceptable to harm women who touch men's property. Now the causality of this idea has spread throughout many other things in day to day life. These people will justify their actions by saying their studies were scientific that women are inferior to men. They will even say that women are no more than for our uses and that they aren't human, only a vessel to carry them (men)...

Now, how do you suppose that ONE idea of hatred towards women touching men's property hundreds of years ago would turn out today? Just an idea which begat to hatred which begat to dissonance which begat oppression of women in all sorts of other things. Because now in this hypothetical universe, men own pretty much everything. That includes stores, buildings, businesses, even the food industries. What type of life would women experience today?

You see how an idea is all connected in all these things?

Pointing out the police, our government, the dissonance, the racism, it all ties together.

Hate to be long winded about this, but this is how the world works. This ALSO applies to every other country. Whether good, bad or ugly. there is a cause & effect. Racism is IN the police, racism is IN the government, racism is ONLINE as we speak. Racism is happening at Mc'donalds bro. We can't just say that racism is the system when it was racism that created the system. Racism was here first before the system.

It stems from it in many ways and many forms. It is not to say that every single altercation is due to that racism, but when encountered with a black man, it's a 99.99% chance the impulse was due to race when white cops deal with black cops. You have to dig DEEPER, not just the surface of the title of "police" but each and every individual who have been poisoned by this issue throughout the centuries.

Do you really want to know what it means to be an American in the 21st century? It really is very patriotic. This is what it means to be an American today.

To not commemorate for past racists and slave owners (Because that's what they were. They weren't heroes, they weren't good people, they were a plague), but to stand for something that we're aspiring to become — that despite knowing that it could endanger your future/life by people who are intently set on indoctrinating our society and not educating them — you do it anyway. That is what America is about. Not to be proud of where we came from, but to be proud of what we are trying to aspire to be. That is America. Because we all know our past is absolutely terrible. We should be looking back at the past and saying "Don't want that happening again. Let's do things that would prevent it. Let's set up ways so nobody would benefit from that past. Let's teach our youth that ALL people are equal, that we CAN recognize our differences to co-exist, not our similarities. This is a true American. A person who fights for your rights for freedom, liberty and justice for all.

But you know what's ironic? Whenever someone does this here, they call them traitors.

So maybe I got it all wrong. Maybe what it means to be an American is not this at all. Maybe to be an American is to indoctrinate, to enslave, to lie, to control. Maybe what it means to be an American is to tell people to leave if they have a problem with it. I mean c'mon, the whole point of America being America was because they had a problem with how things were in Europe, so they left and came here, stole the land, genocide an entire race, enslaved millions from another, reaped the benefits from that, pretend it don't exist and walk around like nothing is wrong. And whenever someone points it out, they become enraged with a fairy-tale concept that this country really is the home of the brave and the land of the free. Maybe that's what it means. Maybe America means to be intolerant and that despite our constitution saying COMPLETELY otherwise, our culture is the opposite of that. I mean look at what's happening now. Are people really trying to make things better? C'mon. Let's be honest with ourselves. Every single time a minority in this country addressed an issue, the majority had a problem with it. They would be like "One day, that change will come, but that time is not today." Because they didn't want anything to change, they wanted to keep things the way it was. Maybe it means that diversity isn't encouraged and being morally reprehensible is justified. Maybe what it means to be an American is simply to be......bad.

What do y'all think? First one's better?

Maybe it means both........Maybe the first one is where we're headed and the second one is who we used to be. And the first one a lot of people want, but the second one a lot of people are holding onto.

I end with a quote: "The psychology of Whites is not the same as the psychology of Blacks. Or Native Americans, or Latinos, or Asian Americans. Male psychology isn't the same as female psychology. The psychology of the young isn't the same as the psychology of the old. We are as different on the inside as we are on the outside and we have the right to be so. People, don't deny differences! Accept them, appreciate them, recognize them and cherish them. They are extremely important."

— Jane Elliott

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