Picking Funerals

Carl the Cuck Slayer VS. Van Jones

This video expresses everything I've been thinking and trying to articulate in conversations. I personally think our biggest problem is that people can't get outside their own head, outside their own house, neighborhood, town, experience, and try to see other people's point of view. "Why do you feel that way?" "Why do you think that?" No, people want an immediate reaction and tell people that they should look, act, speak, think like them. I do not believe a man needs to walk in another man's shoes. I think we are capable enough to stop and try to sympathize and empathize with others. Here are just a few thoughts of mine on things the video brings up and thoughts of my own:

1. In reality people want to make sure sides are taken and defend those sides to the death. And because of this need to defend and win people don't stay on topic. You want to talk about slavery, they need to mention Republicans freed the slaves. You want to talk about police brutality towards blacks, they want to talk about black on black crime. These are both important topics, but they are different, and we should be able to focus on one without bringing up another. You want to talk about black lives mattering they want to talk about all lives mattering. Well of course all lives matter, again, two different topics. Stick to the topic at hand. Stop trying to be the nice guy and allow a discussion to happen. And news channels and people on social media like to cherry pick people of color that may disagree with protest tactics or groups, "Look, I found one on our side!", yet that doesn't change the fact that there is a problem.

2. What bothers me the most is while we are on our sides we also choose who is worthy of mourning. This even comes down to our churches. I've seen plenty of churches putting up blue ribbons in support of the police. This is good and just. Yet, I have yet to hear about the lives of those killed by police officers in the local churches I've been to lately. Our churches are picking funerals. Our churches are picking sides.

3. People on the right/conservatives want to use science and numbers when it is advantageous to them but when it isn't they brush it off or don't use it to it's fullest extent (both left and right do this). Want to talk abortion? Lets look at the science. It is murder. Want to talk numbers/stats, lets take them as plain as possible. I am not a statistician, but I believe that when you are comparing two groups of numbers/populations, the real impact lies in the total number and the percentage of impact to the whole (I hope that made sense. It does in my head.) So if you have a group of 10 and 9 are affected, then you have a group of 100 and 20 are affected, obviously more were affected in the group of 100, but the group of 10 as a whole was more impacted by the loss of the 9.

4. One last thing, history. We are a country of people that once owned and abused other people, stole this land from those who were already here, wait stay on topic. But, when people want to talk about, teach about, discuss the past people, especially the right, like to brush it off and say we are a post racial country. The days of oppression and slavery are not so long ago. As Van Jones points out, he is the first generation to be born with all of his rights. I have family that lived through and experienced abuses during the civil rights times. I have personally experienced racism in my short life so far. One experience that sticks out is not being served in a little town called Tiger, GA. I've been around white folks who talk about blacks or other minorities in a derogatory way because they don't realize what I am so they feel it's safe because none of "them" are around. Do I think they are going to pitch a burning cross in my yard, no, but let's not say we're post racial now.

So in my opinion I agree with Van Jones, it is not all Pres. Obama's fault our country is more racially divided. A reality has been brought to light, it makes people uncomfortable, and they need someone to blame...off topic. What needs to happen is what happens in this video. Discussion. Taking the time. I think this interview was meant to be a sting/trap but it turned out, in my opinion, beautifully. This is beautiful and possible. I've experienced it with people I've spoken with. The problem is we surround ourselves with people who think exactly like us so we don't get challenged. Let's stop trying to win arguments, trying to post the most clever rebuttal in meme form, and actually have discussion. Or maybe not say or write anything at all until we've tried to digest a situation.

 I'm not perfect. But I know the kind of world I want my family to be in. I want to be able to go out at night without my wife worrying about my safety. I want to be able to clean  a friend's gym without my wife worrying about neighbors seeing the guy with dreads and calling police or taking charge. I want my girls to be able to have friendships and not have to worry about being treated based on what they look like whether this is based on their skin, hair, how they talk, or clothes. We live in an amazing country. How did we get here? It was never perfect. People took the time. Let's take the time.