opinion, post, Uncategorized

The Coloured Message in “Black Lives Matter”

So… before you jump down my throat hear me out.

I realize there are many who disagree with my thoughts around this “movement”, but in actuality when you think about what I have to say then maybe, just maybe, your views will change, at least to some small degree.

On a blog site called  askdonnamarie , I came across a post entitled “If Black lives matter, why do we break each other down?” My first thought was, “Great! someone who feels like I do, finally!” The article fully supports my thought process around this movement.  I call it a movement because that’s what it’s now become.

Now, let me first say that I do not dismiss nor deny that we have serious issues when it comes to how police have dealt with the black community in recent cases, and I certainly don’t condone such behaviour. However, it’s the methodology and response of the “movement” to these incidences that I have a problem with, particularly when you take into account the bigger picture, rather the extended picture, of how these behavioural messages relay to the younger generation. Take, for example, the incident which prompted Marie’s post.

In her post, the author recounted an incident that occurred at her 10 year old son’s basketball game, where a group of parents and coaches, in an outcry rallying against cheating charges that resulted in forfeit, decided to have the kids “protest” by having them sit on the court, in effect preventing the other teams from playing the scheduled game. The outcome? Police were called and, in response, the kids were advised not to acknowledge them. So, what’s the lesson taught here? Well, Ms. Marie rather eloquently laid out these truths:

  • Lying and cheating are worth fighting for
  • Respect for authority is negotiable
  • My actions are not my responsibility
  • Respect of others opinions isn’t important

And this was a children’s basketball game!

Taking it to the street, and on a larger scale, recent developments brought the “black lives matter” protestors under the watchful eyes of millions who are observing not only how the black community responds to issues, but the message attached to these responses. Responses such as  sitting in the middle of a highway, yelling and screaming, preventing traffic from going through, and then responding in a violent manner when being asked to vacate by police. Or, yelling and screaming at the top of their lungs at the Premier as she walks through a crowd. How is this effective? How does this solve our community issues of violence, when “violence” is demonstrated in the methodology itself? How is this peaceful protesting? How can our voices be heard through the yelling and screaming? How does this effect change? In fact, it has done nothing but spark more criticism from others.

When we look at leaders who have been the most successful in effecting change, we see individuals like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, and Ghandi who were all quiet, yet effective leaders. Quiet in their approach, yet able to get their voices heard and garner the attention of those that mattered, particularly in a time when there was anything but peace and equal rights. What did they do differently then, than now? Among the political challenges, they were able to make profound change in a non-violent manner. There was purpose, intention, and conviction in their fight, with an end goal in sight that benefited all.

If the goal of black lives matter is to preserve black lives, then the protestors, rather the  leaders of the protestors, should be rallying against black on black crime as well, where young black men are shooting and killing each other in broad daylight on what seems like a regular basis. They should be rallying in the midst of these communities taking the message of “black lives matter” there first, before taking it on a national scale. They should be dealing with issues in their own backyard, or is it that black lives not matter there as well?

If the fight is to create change and address issues, then does the community not fall within this realm? Do black lives matter when it’s not another black man doing the killing? Or, does it only count when police is involved? Why aren’t you, the protestors, taking the fight to the streets in the same fashion when a young black man is killed by another? Why is the response different? Why is the crime of a higher degree if a police officer took the life and not another black man? Why aren’t you stopping traffic then? Ranting and railing?

Taking all this into account, it remains to be said, and I have to ask: “at the end of the day what are you really protesting about?” What’s the real message here? A life is a life is a life, in the community as well as on the street. If you’re protesting that this matters, then take care of our inner community, and stop contradicting your message. Colour in between the lines first!

 

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post, Uncategorized

Where Do I Start Donald Sterling?

The world is at a standstill right now. I can almost hear the rippled hush across the globe as we wait in awe and curiosity as to what happens next? Not because it’s a miraculous thing, but because we just can’t believe it!

Are your eyes open? It should be.

In the grand scheme of things, we have not reached as far as we should, on many levels, and we should be. If we are really honest and look at things clearly, without judgement, we will not like what we see.

Individuals’ (Mr. Sterling, et al) mentality, attitudes and behaviors have not changed much from Rosa Parks’ time and incidences like these merely highlight and underline this truth, unbelievably so! We THINK we have come far, but we really haven’t. This incident simply serves as an example of what not to say in public, and Sterling is now the “scapegoat” (for lack of a better word).

If an owner of a national, professional team is comfortable enough to talk and express himself with such ease, in this day and age; someone who obviously feels no way about it, seems to put forward a false front to his business partners, players and the public, and has gone undetected all these years,  even if he was unaware he was being taped, then people, we have a larger problem on our hands…cue the image of a snake in the grass.

Can you imagine how many others, in high influential places, business owners and the like, who [may] feel this way? How many closed door dinners and lunches have they had with each other, speaking freely like this? The likelihood then is that they just haven’t been caught (yet).

If so, we should also question motive: “did the NBA management really WANT to do this or was it something they felt they had to do to make a strong enough statement, because if they didn’t, what then?” There was too much to lose in not responding and they had to ensure the penalty was profound — just enough to have some effect.  But did it??? Who won that round? Why, Sterling did!  At the end of the day, he’s still the owner. He’s still in a position of influence among his peers and beyond. He’s still Donald Sterling. He has choice. A choice to keep his team or choice to sell the team. And, if he chooses the latter, he’s now made a possible $515M extra to put in his pocket — a $400M profit on a team he just demoralized. But then what?

A decision was given, because it had to be. The media made it so. But what if they didn’t? What if the conversation was never taped? Then what? Take away all the hoopla and hype, the problem is still there, in black and white. This slap on the wrist penalty and life ban didn’t and doesn’t solve the problem, even within our own race.

There’s much work to do. It is my opinion, as is everything I’ve written here, that the players’ silence and continuation in playing the game simply acknowledges the fact that we don’t respect ourselves enough to make a stand, after all we are still watching. After all, who turned off their TV? Did you?

It’s more than just turning your jersey inside out. This was a GLOBAL spectacle, people watching around the world, waiting in anticipation to see what would happen, and what did they do…turn their jersey inside out and received praise in showing “solidarity”, and what did we do….continue watching. Nice!?

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