I was with you until...

By Lance

Over the last few years I've grown more empathetic toward life in America for black Americans.  I could never begin to understand what it feels like to be eyed suspiciously in a department store or stopped by police for looking suspicious in a white neighborhood.  I give thanks to a very enlightened daughter who has taken time to educate me.  Something I saw on Facebook triggered me this morning to inspire my writing.

I dont like the phrase White Privilege but would certainly consider it naivety.  I was young when seeing the news footage of cameras rolling down the streets of Detroit in 1968.  I certainly didnt understand it at the time.  My brothers best friend was a black kid and was in our home several days a week.

I would later seek understanding.  I read the book "Black Like Me" in my teens.  My young years were also impacted by Vietnam which I read a lot about.  The readings included "Bloods" which was the experience from the eyes of black grunts.  I dated my first black woman when I was seventeen.  She was welcome in my home and I in hers.

My first management job at age 20 was in a predominantly black neighborhood with predominantly black employees.  I vividly remember a couple of incidents.  One was when a group of my employees sat me down to learn me on neighborhood lingo so I'd fit in better.

The second was when a white boy got decked in front of me for being in the wrong place.  That same group of employees surrounded me and told me not to worry, I was good with them.  Honestly though, it was the first time I experienced racial tension first hand.

I got another reminder several years later.  I was dating another black woman and we were taking a trip to Indianapolis.  My mother urged me to be careful.  "Why?"  She explained people down there might not be as understanding as I was accustomed to.

That's the background.  So why the urge to write.  Something certainly needs to be done about excessive force by officers.  It's not a problem exclusive to the black community yet it is certainly disproportional.  However, you lost me at the rioting.

What got me this morning was a comparison about the reaction to riots compared to the Covid protests.  How could one suggest there is any similarity.  Then, as the morning goes on I hear a majority of attests arent even locals.  Who organizes these folks to do this?  Is it intentional just to fan the flames (no pun intended) and not really about justice.

Never let an opportunity go to waste is old but with Covid and then this I see a lot of overreacting.  Where is the sanity?  The conversation is no longer about a rogue cop and a systemic problem.