I want to start by stating unequivocally that I do not condone the the shootings in Dallas last night. Sadly, however, I am not surprised by it. It is the result of years of oppression and injustice. History tells us that oppressed people do not remain passive and non-violent forever. At some point, whether collectively, in factions or individually, they begin to lash out. They begin to live according to the principle espoused by my grandmother when she said, “If you don’t hear me, you’ll feel me!” What we are seeing now in America is what my father calls “maturated frustration.” It is the reality that suppressed anger will find a channel to release itself.
This is why I chose to be a civil rights lawyer. This is why I write articles like Why America Will Always Be Racist and How To Survive An Encounter with the Police. It is not because I’m a race-baiter, stuck in the past, engaging in name-calling or hold anti-cop sentiments. Rather it is because I am aware of the lessons of history and seek so desperately to avoid this seemingly inevitable confrontation. I am trying to shed light on an unchecked cancer devastating our country. There are those who erroneously believe that by discussing America’s race problem, it only perpetuates it; that it causes violence. Therefore, they reason, if we stop “making things racial” or “stop seeing color” then the issue would go away. But this is an ostrich-like approach, and it will destroy this country. The truth is that America has spent hundreds of years promulgating notions of race, and white supremacy. That is the root of the evil we see unfolding before us. We do see color because we have been conditioned that way! Failing to address this reality will only allow this cancer to ravish and kill our American body. Thus, I speak out not out of hate, but out of love and a desire to see America thrive. We are not immune to the force and truth of history. I just pray we do not learn this lesson when it is too late.
Again, please let me be clear: the shooting and killing of the Dallas police last night are to be condemned just like the shooting and killing of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile and countless others. The solution is not to eliminate life, but build a system where all citizens feel that their life is valued and protected. Maturated frustration is best cured not by violence and a heavy hand, but the presence of justice and equality. Until that happens, I know Dallas will not be the last city to see violence, and Philando Castile and Alton Sterling will not be the last citizens killed by the police.
–Until Next Time–
Palooke
