We are in the midst of another cycle
of oppression boiling over into the streets. In Baltimore, protests have
erupted over the death of Freddie Gray who died a week after being arrested by police and suffering a broken spine. Protesters took to the streets over the
weekend demanding answers to why another black man is dead after an altercation
with police. On Monday evening after the funeral for Freddie Gray, the protests
turned violent as some destroyed property, set fires, and attacked people on
the streets. We are not new to this cycle of oppression. It happened in Ferguson
after the death of the Michael Brown, and in the 60’s after the assassination of
Dr. King, and all over the world when oppression turns to rage. Anyone who pays attention to history can
describe what will happen before it unfolds. Black person killed. People
protest. Some people turn to violence. The National Guard gets called in and
all hell breaks loose. This is how the cycle of oppression plays out when those
being oppressed take their anger to the streets.
Next
we get the reaction from the rest of the world. Black leaders and the family of
the victim make pleas for peace. Elected officials make demands for nonviolence
but refuse to answer questions about Gray’s death and as Ta-Nehisi Coatsreminds us “when nonviolence is preached as an attempt to evade therepercussions of political brutality, it betrays itself.” The media reacts as
well. Not when the protesters are demonstrating peacefully because the WhiteHouse Correspondence dinner is too important to cover peaceful protests. But
once the violence begins, the media is sure to get involved making sure the
world sees the story they want them to see. And then the rest of America
responds. Through social media people quickly begin to condemn the violence,
which is not the solution, but instead of remembering why people are protesting
in the first place, many people focus only on the violence. They quickly label
those they watch through the constant media coverage destroying property as
thugs, animals, and criminals. And they demand that their friends do the same. They
want others to not only condemn the violence but publicly demean those engaging
in the violence.
Well
on Monday night I did not give them what they wanted. In my first post, I said
I would not pass judgment because I was not in Baltimore (I also refused to
watch the non-stop media coverage that has them fired up) and although I don’t
condone the violence I understand that outrage leads to violence. I shared an
article from Baltimore Orioles COO John Angelos who aptly reminds people that
what is happening in Baltimore is directly related to the lack economic opportunity
and the increasing poverty. I also
reminded people that the fires will burn out, the glass will be replaced, the
cars will be fixed, the businesses will be remodeled, and the bruises will heal
but Freddie Gray will never breathe again and that is the reason why most
people are in the streets in Baltimore. Next, I chose to remind people that
when white people riot, after they win or lose a game, rarely do the media call them thugs or label their actions as riots.
This hit a nerve with many of my white friends. They did not like me
comparing the response to white riots with the response to what is happening in
Baltimore. They were hoping that, the
cool, hip, educated, black woman they call a friend, would join them in their
condemnation of the thugs, criminals, and animals. What these friends of mine
are learning is that I am not that black person.
There
are many black people who will join them in their public denouncements of the people
who use violence but I refuse to play that game. Even members in my own family
are quick to zero in on those who engage in violence and blame them for making
all black people look bad. I am not that black person. You can find videos of
black people denouncing those who resorted to violence and blaming the black
community for always giving white people a reason to treat us the way they
do. I am not that black person.
I was that black
person but I refuse to be that black person anymore. Growing up in all white
New Jersey, desperate to be accepted by my white friends, I embraced a
colorblind pull yourself up by your bootstraps blame the victim mentality for
many years. Then I learned that people who are blind to my color are blind to
me, you can’t pull yourself up by bootstraps that were cut off at birth, and
victim blaming is a tool of the oppressor. I learned that when the masses are
driven to extinction through abject poverty and police brutality they will
often turn to violence to survive. I learned that when you ignore the plight of
the oppressed they will often turn to violence to get your attention. None of
this means I condone violence. I have engaged in many protests and they have
never been violent. I do not hate all police and I will be the first one to turn
to police when a situation calls for it because I want to live in a safe world.
But once I became aware of how systems of oppression work and how white
supremacy functions to keep people of color at the bottom of the social
hierarchy, I can never be that black person who focuses on the few people engaging
in violence instead of the thousands demanding justice.
What
really gets me is why my white friends need me to be that black person. Why do they
feel the need to call me out for not slamming the protesters as violent thugs?
I suspect that they need me to help them ignore the struggle. You see if I join
them in their chorus of “violence will not solve this” and “these people are
only making it worse by acting this way”, then they can continue feeling comfortable
ignoring the reality of how oppression works.
They need me to condone their ignorance because if a cool, hip,
educated, black friend agrees with them then they are justified in their
thinking. Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but I am not that black person. I
will not help you ignore the reality of a rising epidemic of black violence by
police. I will not allow you to dismiss the reason why people have to take to
streets after another black man or woman is killed by those who are sworn to protect
them. I will not contribute to your denial that racism and poverty are the real
acts of violence that we should all be angry about.
You
see if I was that black person, you should not be happy to have me as a friend.
I would be doing you a huge disservice if I did not force you to confront
things you do not want to see. So since I am your friend I need you to know
that I am not that black person and you should thank me instead of being angry
with my response. I will still be your friend even if you rush to condemn those
engaging in violence, but I have to wonder if you will still be mine if I
refuse to be that black person. I unfriended a few people who took their
condemnation too far for my liking and I am sure I lost some friends because of
my posts. You do not have to agree with me but if you are going to call
yourself my friend, you need to know that I am not that black person you need
me to be. And if you want our friendship to grow stronger you should ask
yourself why you need me to be that black person.
