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Michelle Obama: I was 'knocked back' by race perceptions


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US first lady speaks out on her experiences as an African American amid racial tensions between black communities and police

 

 

Damien Gayle and agencies

 

Monday 11 May 2015 08.19 BST

 

 

 

Michelle Obama says she had to fight misperceptions due to her ethnicity during the 2008 White House campaign that saw her husband become the first black president of the United States.

 

She told an audience of mainly black graduates she feared racial stereotypes might be harming her husband’s election campaign and worried what her daughters might feel if they knew what people were saying about her.

 

And she warned them of the “daily slights” they would face throughout their lives in the US, where “those age old problems are stubborn and they haven’t fully gone away”.

 

The first lady, who grew up in humble circumstances in Chicago and became a successful corporate lawyer, has rarely discussed race during her husband’s two terms in office.

 

But recent cases of alleged abuse of African Americans by police officers, and related unrest in Baltimore, made it hard to avoid.

 

“As potentially the first African-American first lady, I was also the focus of another set of questions and speculations, conversations sometimes rooted in the fears and misperceptions of others,” Obama said in a frank address at Tuskegee University in Alabama on Saturday.

 

“Was I too loud or too angry or too emasculating? Or was I too soft, too much of a mom, not enough of a career woman?” she asked, at the historically black university.

 

For the first magazine cover featuring Obama in 2008, The New Yorker parodied her as a radical and a terrorist.

 

“It was a cartoon drawing of me with a huge afro and a machine gun,” she recalled.

 

“Now, yeah, it was satire, but if I’m really being honest, it knocked me back a bit. It made me wonder just how are people seeing me.”

 

In an almost half-hour address, she also recalled other racially insensitive comments, including when Fox News television said she was her “husband’s crony of colour” and “Obama’s baby mama” – the latter US slang for an unwed mother. Elsewhere, she recalled, the media had accused her of “a little bit of uppity-ism”, as well as describing a celebratory fist bump with her husband as a “terrorist fist-jab”.

 

“Back in those days, I had a lot of sleepless nights worrying about what people thought of me, wondering if I might be hurting my husband’s chances of winning his election, fearing how my girls would feel if they found out what some people were saying about their mom,” Michelle Obama recalled.

 

“I had to ignore all of the noise and be true to myself – and the rest would work itself out,” she said, drawing cheers from graduates.

 

Aside from mastering details of administration policy, she said, “I also worked to ensure that my efforts would resonate with kids and families – and that meant doing things in a creative and unconventional way.

 

“So, yeah, I planted a garden, and hula-hooped on the White House lawn with kids. I did some mom dancing on TV ... And at the end of the day, by staying true to the me I’ve always known, I found that this journey has been incredibly freeing.”

 

But Obama returned to issues of racism in America with a warning to Tuskegee’s graduates that “the road ahead is not going to be easy”.

 

“It never is,” she said, “especially for folks like you and me. Because while we’ve come so far, the truth is that those age-old problems are stubborn and they haven’t fully gone away. So there will be times ... when you feel like folks look right past you, or they see just a fraction of who you really are.”

 

People would not see them as the hard-working graduates they appeared on the day of their graduation who had struggled to achieve their education, pay for it, and give back to their communities, she said. “They don’t know that part of you”.

 

“Instead they will make assumptions about who they think you are based on their limited notion of the world. And my husband and I know how frustrating that experience can be. We’ve both felt the sting of those daily slights throughout our entire lives - the folks who crossed the street in fear of their safety; the clerks who kept a close eye on us in all those department stores; the people at formal events who assumed we were the ‘help’ - and those who have questioned our intelligence, our honesty, even our love of this country.

 

“And I know that these little indignities are obviously nothing compared to what folks across the country are dealing with every single day - those nagging worries that you’re going to get stopped or pulled over for absolutely no reason; the fear that your job application will be overlooked because of the way your name sounds; the agony of sending your kids to schools that may no longer be separate, but are far from equal; the realization that no matter how far you rise in life, how hard you work to be a good person, a good parent, a good citizen - for some folks, it will never be enough.”

 

Frustration, “can feel isolating. It can make you feel like your life somehow doesn’t matter. And as we’ve seen over the past few years, those feelings are real,” the first lady added.

 

“They’re rooted in decades of structural challenges that have made too many folks feel frustrated and invisible, and those feelings are playing out in communities like Baltimore and Ferguson and so many others across this country.”

 

 

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Michelle Obama at Tuskegee University. Photograph: Brynn Anderson/AP

 

 

 

 

22b93a43-5caa-45bd-9dbc-ceb5990abf71-620

The cover of the July 21 2008 of the New Yorker magazine. Photograph: Chris Hondros/Getty Images

 

 

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/11/michelle-obama-i-was-knocked-back-by-race-perceptions

 
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Everything Mechelle referred to has a presence on ''every'' person on a daily bases, regardless what color our skin may be. It sounds like she's plantin' the seed of resentment in a mostly black congregation...Seein' Michelle was highly racist in her final thesis and was an active black-activist throughout her entire life...I'll be waitin' for both of them to finish this last term so it can finally be reveiled what's in the sealed documents concernin' just who Barry and Moosechell really are...They both may turn out to be nice guys.... 

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I am so tired of this damn bigot.  I wish she would simply shut up or start being grateful for what he has and no one else would have because it if paid for by the taxpayer.  If she hates this country so much then leave.  

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it's wonderful to see michelle have the courage to generate "real talk" even though she, as well as i, already know the majority response it would generate.  nonetheless, a person's experience is their experience whether or not someone agree with it, accept it or regard it.  

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It sounds like she's plantin' the seed of resentment in a mostly black congregation...

 

interesting take-away skeetdog.  i saw it in an entirely different light.  her experience, to me, sounds like planting the seeds of hope and endurance for those who are dealing with similar struggles.  being in the "black congregation", this is is my interpretation.  are you in the "black congregation"?  if not, how can you assume to know how it is received?  

 

for at least a year i recently dealt with a very "frustrating" Chief Financial Officer of a major hospital.  everytime he saw me he would verbally note how menacing i looked to him.  i am a tall black man standing about 6'2 at about 260 lbs with very broad shoulders (typical NFL linebacker size).  his remarks would continue regardless of the venue.  once while in a compliance meeting with all of the directors present he went around the room asking them if they agreed about my menacing look, "wouldn't you be terrified to be in a dark alley with this guy??"  people were dropping their heads all around the room in embarrassment and very apprehensive to answer the boss.  

 

in all of my corporate life, i have never witnessed an executive (especially at that C level) conduct themselves in such a way.  he was completely oblivious to the implications of his words and actions toward me.  however words like michelle obama are very inspiring to a person like me who have to "take it" until we can all learn to fully respect one another, drop stereotypes, and receive each other based on character content.  

 

this is my experience....

Edited by TrinityeXchange
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until we come face to face with some of our biases, we will struggle to move forward as a nation.  there was a picture posted recently in one of the topics depicting thugs (similar to the picture below).  

 

bGRyR5t-300x214.jpg

 

then there was a post where people expressed pride and endearment for the picture.

 

article-2684147-1F77DA6E00000578-342_634

 

until we are ready to come to terms as to why the first picture is one of thugs and terrorist while the other depicts patriotism and "What makes this country great", we are going nowhere....

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until we come face to face with some of our biases, we will struggle to move forward as a nation.  there was a picture posted recently in one of the topics depicting thugs (similar to the picture below).  

 

bGRyR5t-300x214.jpg

 

then there was a post where people expressed pride and endearment for the picture.

 

article-2684147-1F77DA6E00000578-342_634

 

until we are ready to come to terms as to why the first picture is one of thugs and terrorist while the other depicts patriotism and "What makes this country great", we are going nowhere....

Trinity... I see you just want to continue to feed the racial division, with your personal perspective.  From observing your well-intentioned posts, I can see that you mean well... but you're simply viewing through a biased prism.  I can respect and understand your personal attachment, but so many others who have similar discrimination experiences via race, gender, etc... can feel the same way.  You are not a "special" American... you are simply, American.  Until you can recognize that the narrative you endorse MUST be viewed from a colorblind perspective, you are only perpetuating the divide and doing a disservice to the cause of the unity you (we all) seek.  I don't think you realize that YOUR perspective is easily viewed as the racist one... and is intellectually dishonest.  I can only hope that a person of your obvious intelligence can face the objective truth, and feed the narrative of unity by dismissing your bias.

 

Your opinion and it's impact would have a thousand times more weight if you fought with a colorblind perspective.  From one American to another... I wish that for you... and others.

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until we come face to face with some of our biases, we will struggle to move forward as a nation.  there was a picture posted recently in one of the topics depicting thugs (similar to the picture below).  

 

bGRyR5t-300x214.jpg

 

then there was a post where people expressed pride and endearment for the picture.

 

article-2684147-1F77DA6E00000578-342_634

 

until we are ready to come to terms as to why the first picture is one of thugs and terrorist while the other depicts patriotism and "What makes this country great", we are going nowhere....

 

 

Naaa  cant get behind this one trinity.

there`s just to much contrast between pic`s.

If the girl holding the flag was black . She would have gotton just as much positive feedback because of what it represents.

 

Stick with the real and stop fishing.

cause I really like your real

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Trinity... I see you just want to continue to feed the racial division, with your personal perspective.  From observing your well-intentioned posts, I can see that you mean well... but you're simply viewing through a biased prism.  I can respect and understand your personal attachment, but so many others who have similar discrimination experiences via race, gender, etc... can feel the same way.  You are not a "special" American... you are simply, American.  Until you can recognize that the narrative you endorse MUST be viewed from a colorblind perspective, you are only perpetuating the divide and doing a disservice to the cause of the unity you (we all) seek.  I don't think you realize that YOUR perspective is easily viewed as the racist one... and is intellectually dishonest.  I can only hope that a person of your obvious intelligence can face the objective truth, and feed the narrative of unity by dismissing your bias.

 

Your opinion and it's impact would have a thousand times more weight if you fought with a colorblind perspective.  From one American to another... I wish that for you... and others.

thank you for sharing my friend and it is received sincerely although i disagree about me feeding a racial division.  

 

my perspective is not to continue or promote division at all.  i am simply attempting to show that racism in america is still alive.  i deal with it on a regular basis in my life; so why lie to myself or anyone else about it and treat it like the boogey man?  i am not crying about it or "whining" about it or any such thing.  the only reason i point it out here is in hopes that others might wake up and see the truth because many here dismiss that it even exist.  yes, other -ism's exist as well but it doesn't dismiss racism.  the minute you mention racism, everybody runs screaming "grenade".  for me it is as present as the corner store.  and as long as it exists, we have to train our children how to deal with it so that they don't go heading off into an unequal world thinking that it is equal.  because it simply isn't.

  • so i tell young black men the protocol to follow when approached by police and the BETTER hear me so that they don't end up dead (keep hands on steering wheel, ask to remove seatbelt, ask to go into wallet, ask to open glove compartment, turn on dome light,...)
  • i tell tall and stout young black men (built like me) how they must pay closer attention to their mannerisms in the workplace (speak with a softer voice, smile more, be extra entreating, never show aggression)
  • and on and on

it does us no good to act as if it doesn't exist.  if i were to act as if racism didn't exist, i would never have gotten as far as i have in corporate america.  i realize and accept that society has painted a man of my color and stature as a threat (see my post about my CFO...it is what it is).  because of this, i function in constant disarming mode.  for instance i give elderly caucasians extra space when waiting behind them at the atm machine.  

 

this is life for me.  i am not crying about or what have you.  i am just being transparent to you all that black males have to simply deal with it until things get better.  but for you to tell me i am looking through some whacked prism......man are you serious?!

 

Naaa  cant get behind this one trinity.

there`s just to much contrast between pic`s.

If the girl holding the flag was black . She would have gotton just as much positive feedback because of what it represents.

 

Stick with the real and stop fishing.

cause I really like your real

okay, i see your point dog.  here is a better picture and this is from my hometown.  i give you the michigan militia.  these guys were running training missions all through the wooded areas of our cities and it is tolerated as patriotic and constitutional while the black panther party was a terrorist group.  

100404jon4.jpg

i only hope people can see the difference is all.  a lot of the bias and prejudice is trained into us and we don't even realize.  consider the media coverage of katrina where people were trying to survive.  the media wrote that blacks were looting and whites were finding food.  

white.jpg

black.jpg

 

i am not race baiting or stoking division bro.  i am simply trying to open people's eyes to see the truth.  when michelle obama addresses college kids, she is really trying to help prepare them for the real world.  for people to attack her for "real talk" is to see the nation through rose colored glasses (or the prism as jersey put it).  black people aint crying (or at least the ones that i know) but we are dealing with it and we can't wish it away or close our eyes and pretend that it isn't there.  we deal with it everyday.  it is really that simple.

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thank you for sharing my friend and it is received sincerely although i disagree about me feeding a racial division.  

 

my perspective is not to continue or promote division at all.  i am simply attempting to show that racism in america is still alive.  i deal with it on a regular basis in my life; so why lie to myself or anyone else about it and treat it like the boogey man?  i am not crying about it or "whining" about it or any such thing.  the only reason i point it out here is in hopes that others might wake up and see the truth because many here dismiss that it even exist.  yes, other -ism's exist as well but it doesn't dismiss racism.  the minute you mention racism, everybody runs screaming "grenade".  for me it is as present as the corner store.  and as long as it exists, we have to train our children how to deal with it so that they don't go heading off into an unequal world thinking that it is equal.  because it simply isn't.

  • so i tell young black men the protocol to follow when approached by police and the BETTER hear me so that they don't end up dead (keep hands on steering wheel, ask to remove seatbelt, ask to go into wallet, ask to open glove compartment, turn on dome light,...)
  • i tell tall and stout young black men (built like me) how they must pay closer attention to their mannerisms in the workplace (speak with a softer voice, smile more, be extra entreating, never show aggression)
  • and on and on

it does us no good to act as if it doesn't exist.  if i were to act as if racism didn't exist, i would never have gotten as far as i have in corporate america.  i realize and accept that society has painted a man of my color and stature as a threat (see my post about my CFO...it is what it is).  because of this, i function in constant disarming mode.  for instance i give elderly caucasians extra space when waiting behind them at the atm machine.  

 

this is life for me.  i am not crying about or what have you.  i am just being transparent to you all that black males have to simply deal with it until things get better.  but for you to tell me i am looking through some whacked prism......man are you serious?!

 

okay, i see your point dog.  here is a better picture and this is from my hometown.  i give you the michigan militia.  these guys were running training missions all through the wooded areas of our cities and it is tolerated as patriotic and constitutional while the black panther party was a terrorist group.  

100404jon4.jpg

i only hope people can see the difference is all.  a lot of the bias and prejudice is trained into us and we don't even realize.  consider the media coverage of katrina where people were trying to survive.  the media wrote that blacks were looting and whites were finding food.  

white.jpg

black.jpg

 

i am not race baiting or stoking division bro.  i am simply trying to open people's eyes to see the truth.  when michelle obama addresses college kids, she is really trying to help prepare them for the real world.  for people to attack her for "real talk" is to see the nation through rose colored glasses (or the prism as jersey put it).  black people aint crying (or at least the ones that i know) but we are dealing with it and we can't wish it away or close our eyes and pretend that it isn't there.  we deal with it everyday.  it is really that simple.

 

 

Im not going to even try to explain the differance to you trinity between a militia and the black panthers.

I will tell you that we had a least 10 blacks in our militia in MICHIGAN. That was before terry Mcvay  turned the word militia in to a dirty word.

But I dont recall ever seeing any white boys in the black panthers. Hmmmmm

OH Yeah thats right  .  White boys aint allowed in the black panthers !!!!!.   hahahahahahaha  

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thank you for sharing my friend and it is received sincerely although i disagree about me feeding a racial division.  

 

my perspective is not to continue or promote division at all.  i am simply attempting to show that racism in america is still alive.  i deal with it on a regular basis in my life; so why lie to myself or anyone else about it and treat it like the boogey man?  i am not crying about it or "whining" about it or any such thing.  the only reason i point it out here is in hopes that others might wake up and see the truth because many here dismiss that it even exist.  yes, other -ism's exist as well but it doesn't dismiss racism.  the minute you mention racism, everybody runs screaming "grenade".  for me it is as present as the corner store.  and as long as it exists, we have to train our children how to deal with it so that they don't go heading off into an unequal world thinking that it is equal.  because it simply isn't.

  • so i tell young black men the protocol to follow when approached by police and the BETTER hear me so that they don't end up dead (keep hands on steering wheel, ask to remove seatbelt, ask to go into wallet, ask to open glove compartment, turn on dome light,...)
  • i tell tall and stout young black men (built like me) how they must pay closer attention to their mannerisms in the workplace (speak with a softer voice, smile more, be extra entreating, never show aggression)
  • and on and on

it does us no good to act as if it doesn't exist.  if i were to act as if racism didn't exist, i would never have gotten as far as i have in corporate america.  i realize and accept that society has painted a man of my color and stature as a threat (see my post about my CFO...it is what it is).  because of this, i function in constant disarming mode.  for instance i give elderly caucasians extra space when waiting behind them at the atm machine.  

 

this is life for me.  i am not crying about or what have you.  i am just being transparent to you all that black males have to simply deal with it until things get better.  but for you to tell me i am looking through some whacked prism......man are you serious?!

 

 

WOW... and after that response, yes... even more serious!  You need to look through that prism from the other side... and see all the colors unite, rather than disperse into individual agendas!  LOL

 

You MAGNIFY division... rather than treat it objectively.  You're overcompensating, which feeds the divide.  Why wouldn't you treat EVERYONE the same... and TEACH everyone the same expectations.  As all that's highlighted above... this is normal behavior for ANYONE, not exceptional behavior... yet, you feel compelled to racially pronounce it... ON AND ON, as you say.  There's more?  Really?  Everything you just stated, average normal people do everyday without having to "learn".  It's NORMAL.

 

The mere fact that you feel compelled to acknowledge such shortcomings as you do, validates your own participation... as well as the divide.  Are you saying, that these people you need to teach/advise, can't think or behave on their own?  And that by magnifying their behavior, is the only way they can see how they should behave, as a colorless human being?  You are shamelessly highlighting this. 

 

I will never accept your tolerances... and excuses for such a dividing mentality.   You espouse victimization as a curriculum... that is shameful and dishonest.  As much as you may think it's reality... your approach will always perpetuate division and further perceptions of inequality.   Just remember... as much as inequality exists in the world... America provides equal opportunity.

 

As I said before... your intentions are full of merit.  But your methods have no substance.  You negate your own efforts.

 

Wow... I'm getting to know you much better Trinity!   Why not join in the effort to unite?   Lose the chip on your shoulder...

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Im not going to even try to explain the differance to you trinity between a militia and the black panthers.

I will tell you that we had a least 10 blacks in our militia in MICHIGAN. That was before terry Mcvay  turned the word militia in to a dirty word.

But I dont recall ever seeing any white boys in the black panthers. Hmmmmm

OH Yeah thats right  .  White boys aint allowed in the black panthers !!!!!.   hahahahahahaha  

i really wouldn't mind a bit of educating dog if you have the time.  i never heard where whites desired to join the bpp.  but to stay on point, what i don't understand is how one was any less patriotic than the other.  care to help me out?

 

[what i believe - the bpp, in its mission statement, desired a constitution that represented and gave all power to the people.  the bpp called for "power to the people" and that included red, white black, yellow.  they looked to police their own neighborhoods and destroy the drug trafficking ruining inner city lives.  it came out later that they were fighting against the largest drug supplier of inner city black neighborhoods in the FBI and was therefore facing a losing battle. ]  if anyone is interested in learning more about FBI/CIA and drug involvement here is a documentary from the late michael ruppert and another from sibel edmonds....both whistleblowers.

 

Michael Ruppert - Collapse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdO2Xh51Q-U

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Wow... I'm getting to know you much better Trinity!   Why not join in the effort to unite?   Lose the chip on your shoulder...

chip on my shoulder?  ummmmm....i wasn't the CFO going around the room asking all of the directors in the hospital how menacing I looked.  what are you accusing me of?  i am completely lost in your response.  

 

so when a young black man comes up to me totally bewildered about why his face was pressed against hot asphalt by the local police for doing nothing wrong.  what do i tell him?  what is it that you are suggesting i tell him?  

 

please answer that question directly because i sincerely want to know.  young black kid just got pulled out of his car frisked and pinned to the ground for nothing.....what do you tell him?

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i would imagine that you are generating a response of which i am eager to hear.  perhaps you will help me mature/evolve in my thinking jersey.  while you are at it, help me with this one.  a group of three young men (all just over 20 years old) who belong to my church tell me about an incident with the police.  they were all at a store kidding around with the toy guns there (2 black 1 white - all children of God).  somebody called the cops.  the police entered the store in stealth mode.  they whisper at my caucasian brother, "come away from those black guys."  evidently he didn't know that we all go to the same church and the three are like brothers.  stunned he follows orders and then the cops rush in and handle their business against the 2 black young men.  

 

how do you explain to the three what just happened?  how do you help them be more vigilant so that it doesn't happen again?  please know that the two could have easily ended up dead.  just like the video below.

 

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CAUTION:  Strong language

 

 

 

Trinity,

 

Unfortunately… this is how some blacks present themselves.  It is accepted in the culture.  This song is about thuggery.  The comments below on Youtube are very telling…

 prelynmax

“This song makes me want to punch someone randomly.”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnPGRNtLHds

 

What am I to think?  How am I to react when I witness this total disrespect toward everything and everyone?  Do blacks want a pass for this rhetoric and behavior?  Pat them on the head and say “there, there… it’s not your fault… you’re just a victim.”  Wouldn’t that be worse than being held accountable?   Infantilizing and making excuses IS “The soft bigotry of low expectations”?  The black community (culture) needs to take some responsibility because white America did not do this to you.  It isn’t racist to view things honestly.  Black thuggery (just like white thuggery) is the squeaky wheel that will get oiled if something isn’t done to rein it in.  That has to come from within… and it begins with self-respect.  I am intellectually unable to respect anyone who doesn’t respect themselves.

 

michelle obama does us all a disservice by perpetuating the divide.  She should be preaching marriage, education, personal responsibility, morals and ethics.  Shame on her... she has the platform to inspire but she chooses to spotlight the victimization as usual.  But, like the man said... "Talk is cheap, m***** f*****!"

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chip on my shoulder?  ummmmm....i wasn't the CFO going around the room asking all of the directors in the hospital how menacing I looked.  what are you accusing me of?  i am completely lost in your response.  

 

so when a young black man comes up to me totally bewildered about why his face was pressed against hot asphalt by the local police for doing nothing wrong.  what do i tell him?  what is it that you are suggesting i tell him?  

 

please answer that question directly because i sincerely want to know.  young black kid just got pulled out of his car frisked and pinned to the ground for nothing.....what do you tell him?

I understand your confusion Trinity... but you cloud your own vision.  I just expected someone with your intellect to be more objective in their reasoning, regardless of how difficult it may be to dismiss your bias.  Remove your personal experiences... and see the "reality" for what it SHOULD be, not what it is "manufactured" to be.  Be a champion for the truth... not a "version" of it.

 

As for your questions... they're almost rhetorical, because you insist on injecting race.   I don't participate in that... because I won't feed the manufactured division.

 

If you sincerely want answers... be honest with yourself.  You don't need me to explain... I trust in your ultimate intellectual honesty to find clarity in this.  And that should lead you to emotional honesty and hopefully a personal sense of contentment.

 

I will simply say... REMOVE race from your questions.  In that, you should find the substance of my own honest clarity.  There is NO reason for you to pose those questions highlighting race.  Those, and many more situations are faced by ALL people... everyday.  Do you see how you feed the divide, by insisting on viewing people differently?

 

It IS that simple for civilized, honest people.  I hope this helped... and I wish you colorless clarity.  

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It IS that simple for civilized, honest people.  I hope this helped... and I wish you colorless clarity.  

i wish you well in your colorless world my friend and i figured you would side-step a direct answer the minute i hit the post button.  

 

i look forward to reaching that colorless world upon the Lord Jesus' return.  until then i do as my Lord commands, "i send you forth as sheep amongst wolves.  therefore, be wise as serpents but harmless as doves."  to travel in THIS world my friend, you must assess the situation you are a part of and address it in wisdom.  even though i try earnestly to treat all men/women with respect regardless of color, ethnicity or religion, i am fully aware that all do no share my conviction.  there are those who initially see me as a menace because they have been conditioned to think so.  that is the world that i live in and unless you have lived under the threat of death because of your skin color, please don't lecture or condescend to me about some clouded level of confusion.  

 

i can attest to you that i see very clearly what is happening and what has happened.  when they first introduced the concept of racial division to poor whites in virginia to make them feel a little higher on the totem pole than the black person in order to sell the concept of slavery.  all the way to where we are today.  the world is an evil place and the devil is busy and his tool is to divide and conquer.  in a world where the rule of law is decided by might, peace and love is the only way.  and so i encourage others toward those answers.

 

be blessed my friend

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i would imagine that you are generating a response of which i am eager to hear.  perhaps you will help me mature/evolve in my thinking jersey.  while you are at it, help me with this one.  a group of three young men (all just over 20 years old) who belong to my church tell me about an incident with the police.  they were all at a store kidding around with the toy guns there (2 black 1 white - all children of God).  somebody called the cops.  the police entered the store in stealth mode.  they whisper at my caucasian brother, "come away from those black guys."  evidently he didn't know that we all go to the same church and the three are like brothers.  stunned he follows orders and then the cops rush in and handle their business against the 2 black young men.  

 

how do you explain to the three what just happened?  how do you help them be more vigilant so that it doesn't happen again?  please know that the two could have easily ended up dead.  just like the video below.

 

 

Trinity... it's not just about these three kids.  It happens under a multitude of situations around the country on a daily basis.  This is what the police have to contend with, everyday.  If I was in the position to advise these kids... I would simply state that I hope they've learned something from their unique experience, regardless of "process" in which they were involved.   It doesn't have to be a "negative" learning experience.  I would suggest that they are simply the focus of the circumstance at that time... and that they are responsible for their own perception to the rest of society... especially elders and law enforcement.  There is no disgrace in that... and it doesn't need to be magnified as traumatic.  DON'T reinforce the victim card!   Reinforce the respect card!

 

If they did nothing wrong... their cooperation and compliance will vindicate them!  I teach martial arts and self-preservation to children and adults.  This is all about personal perception and awareness of others, and you surroundings.  I will happily and eagerly validate your earlier proactive advice you were espousing to others,Trinity!!!  BUT, it is for ALL people... not just Blacks!!!  With that... we are vigilant, and on the same page!  Join me?!!!

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