A Month of Resistance

This is the first day of the month of resistance. There are dozens of events planned throughout the month of October designed to bear witness to the epidemic of police brutality, and the Stop-and-frisk policy that criminalizes black and brown existence in New York City. 

This movement has been organized and promoted with virtually no help from the traditional media. As the month progresses and the protests can't be ignored any further the organizers and participants will undoubtedly be demonized. Don't fall for this; the people making the arguments are secondary to the arguments they're making. Stop-and-Frisk is a direct violation of the 4th amendment.

I'm "amazed" that our 2nd amendment "patriots" haven't been more vocal against stop-and-frisk. The sad truth is that many of them are more concerned with the majorities 2nd amendment rights than the 4th amendment rights of minorities. It's tragicomic how a society (any society) just assumes the humanity and dignity of some of its citizens, while others have to constantly prove their right to be treated as a person. Johnny Carson once asked Malcolm X what does the black man want. Malcolm's response was perfect. "Johnny, I'm the same man you think you are. I want to fall in love. I want my family to be safe. I'm the same man you think you are. What do you want?"

The messengers and fighters for equality have been historically vilified. Dr. King was called an outside instigator by several prominent clergy members in the south. Don't allow some talking head to distract you from the arguments being made. The inadequacies in our judicial system aren't imagined. Yes, we've made great progress on the racial front, but we still have work to do. I pray for the day that we make overtly racist policies not only illegal, but so stigmatized no one would want to be associated with them. As citizens we have the power to put enough pressure on the power structure that we can make a fundamental change to the elements of our justice system that aren't working.

The Gap Between Dogma and Dogmatism

It's been my experience that faith rooted in cautious optimism and a smidgen of doubt is less likely to devolve into dogmatism. Having beliefs, whether they be religious or secular (grounded in faith or empirical data) is something all of us have in common. All of us believe something: especially those trapped in nihilism who profess they don't believe anything. The amount of certainty we place in our worldview coupled with an inability to accept or even process new information factor heavily in our dogmas slide into a combative one sized fits all belief system.
  
One sufficient, but not necessary, symptom of being overly dogmatic is the inability to consider ideas that don't originate from people who share your worldview. We're all fallible; all of us posess the human propensity for error. Our quest[s] for ultimate truth will all fall short and end in the grave, but the closing of our minds to information or empirical data is a flashing sign that points to a childish mentality grounded in low intellect and/or weak faith. 

I often hear people say we need a national religious awakening or prayer back in school. These request assume that all of our problems could be solved with a rededication to spirituality or faith. The biggest problem with that line of thinking is that we (Americans) have never lived the utopian religious fantasy those who espouse those views are nostalgic for. It's much more reasonable to ask for a collective commitment to critical thinking. 

We have political and media organizations that are invested in systematically misinforming our fellow citizens. The university, scholarship and intellectualism have become the sacrificial lambs to the shrine of dogmatism. Immanuel Kant wrote an essay titled, "What is Enlightenment" that I have quoted in the past more than a few times, the most powerful quote in relation to dogmatism reads as follows: 

Laziness and cowardice are the reasons why such a large part of mankind gladly remain minors all their lives, long after nature has freed them from external guidance. They are the reasons why it is so easy for others to set themselves up as guardians. It is so comfortable to be a minor. If I have a book that thinks for me, a pastor who acts as my conscience, a physician who prescribes my diet, and so on--then I have no need to exert myself. I have no need to think, if only I can pay; others will take care of that disagreeable business for me.

We are splintered as a nation along every possible dividing line. Even agreement has suffered because of our "pure" ideologies. We can agree with each other on 90% of an issue and allow the 10% to get in the way of progress. Just remember: because you hear two sides of an issue doesn't mean you've heard every side of an issue. The certainty we cling to is often an illusion. 

I'm Not Going to Write About Mike Brown

The body of unarmed teenager Mike Brown
 four hours after he was shot 10 times
by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer. 

I'm not going to write about the murder of #MikeBrown in #Ferguson Missouri. The truth is: my Facebook "friends" and the people in my community don't care about arbitrary rule of law, police brutality or mass incarceration. A large portion of them will immediately ask: what was he doing? As if shooting an unarmed teenager 10 times could be explained. I live a peaceful life tucked away in a rural suburb away from the "others". An unarmed kid getting shot 10 times by the police is of no consequence to my peer group.

 I hope all of my Christian friends are comfortable today as they give thanks to Jesus for shedding his blood on Calvary. I'm naive enough to believe that blood was the same blood that inspired the 25th chapter of Matthew: 35-46. It's funny: Jesus starts with the least of these, yet we often avoid the very ones he called us to serve. We're passionate about the conflicts in the Middle east, yet ignore the genocide in our streets. This is the point in my rant where people stop reading and classify me as an angry black man. Well for the first time in my life I'm going to embrace that title. I'm mad as hell. I'm tired of watching the news and seeing kids killed by those who swore to protect and serve. This is where someone mentions violence in the inner cities. Well guess what: I hate that too. It's possible to do more than one thing at a time. 

This October there will be hundreds of functions around the country in solidarity with the stop mass incarceration and end police brutality movements. I have donated time and money for this cause, and will wear orange on the 30th as a show of my solidarity with this movement. I'm glad I don't have any children. How could I teach a child to respect and bow down to an authority figure who doesn't even respect their humanity? I know all cops aren't bad; likewise, I  know all black kids aren't angels, but I also know that if black cops were killing white teenagers at the same rate we would have solved that problem a long time ago. Why do you think we don't have an epidemic of black cops killing suburban and rural teens? It's not that black cops are better or more moral, it's because they know it won't be tolerated by greater society. Until we change the system it will stay the same.

Where's our righteous indignation? Jesus flipped out in the temple, that's the kind of Holy anger we should have about injustice in our time. I thank God for Christians like John Brown and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. They weren't afraid of cutting against the grain. That blood shed on Calvary meant something to them. This rant is why I have very few friends. I would rather be by myself than buck dance and try to assimilate into a normative gaze that views me as other. I pray for the family of Mike Brown and all of the kids who will lose their lives in similar fashion.

Race Issues Part 3 Undervaluing Black Women

In part two I tried to focus on the psychological war being waged by some in the black community. I avoided discussing black women; the level of disrespect they deal with is of a different nature. I know black men who have never dated a black woman. They love their grandmothers, mothers and sisters, yet (some) show outward animosity if not downright contempt towards black women. If black men don't value black women why should anyone else? There's a small (and relatively voiceless) minority of men and women trying to refute the lies being told about black women, but their voices are muted by comparison.

Claire Huxtable was one of the most beloved characters on television. She was beautiful, professional and hard working. Although she wasn't your typical black mother she was more realistic than the women who dominate television screens today. Claire has been replaced by Real Housewives, Basketball Wives and a slew of lesser known "reality" show divas. Many of these woman have provided the worst images associated with black women in recent years. Blaming these women won't solve the problem. After their fifteen minutes are up a new starlet will fill the void. The entertainment industry (with help from the viewing public) has successfully commodified black female buffoonery.

Black women (like all women) are susceptible to the physical abuse that's prevalent in our patriarchal society, but they also fight negative labels associated exclusively with them: angry, hoochie, welfare queen and hoodrat. The most pervasive stereotypes associated with black femininity are negative. All of these stereotypes and images have worked to reclassify black women as being less desirable and substandard. Realistic images of black women on television have been drowned out by a fame and fortune chasing minority who have proven that fame and fortune are worth their souls.

We have a First Lady who is often described as unpatriotic, angry and a freeloader. The Ivy league graduate who routinely made a six figure salary in the years before she was the First Lady has been reduced to being an angry welfare queen. Black women have struggled to control their image in greater society. No matter how professional and competent they show themselves to be they still find themselves fighting for legitimacy. Every time a black woman does something outrageous in the public sphere countless other black women suffer. 

Many of the black men I know who exclusively date white women say they would date black women if there were more sisters "on their level"; the reality is: black women are more likely to be college educated than black men. Society has put such a premium on Eurocentric standards of beauty (blond hair and blue eyes) that for decades black women have used skin lightening creams and hair products designed to make them look less like themselves. Black men are partly responsible for this. We have believed the hype that we turned white women into a symbol of success akin to a Rolex or a Mercedes.  

If you go to any church in the black community you'll see black women doing much of the work to keep the doors open. Black women disproportionately fund the missionary and teach the bible school and Sunday school lessons. It's black women who raise the children when daddy decides he's had enough, yet with all they do for our community we (collectively) don't value them. There's a reason society won't respect our women and we've given it to them.