The
shooting deaths of four Dallas police and one transit officer has shocked the
nation as never before. This is the single loss of life by law enforcement
since 911, but the circumstances are entirely different in scope and purpose.
This brazen and unprovoked attack on police officials happened ironically,
during a peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstration. The reason for the attack
was based on the lone gunman’s displeasure over the recent shooting deaths of Alton
Sterling in Louisiana and Philandro Castile of Minnesota by White police
officers. Dallas police cornered the gunman in a parking garage and after
negotiations with the police failed, the decision was made to send in a robotic
device armed with an explosive and detonate it near the suspect; finally bring
an end to a day filled with tragedy, horror, suffering, pain, and death.
Of course,
when an incident like this happens there are so many questions but few answers.
Predictably also, are the recriminations and playing the blame game; as well as
fanning the flames of social unrest. So where does one start in the dialogue?
Let me get right to the point, then. To all the good and well-meaning participants
of the Black Lives Matter movement, it’s time for a reality check- “BLACK LIVES
DON’T MATTER” to the majority of Americans who are not Black. I mean, how many
mixed ethnicities do you see at the BLM rallies except Whites, who always seem
to join up with these kind of anti-establishment, peace, civil/gay rights or
countercultural movements or protests. Where are Asian citizens, Middle
Eastern, Eastern or Northern Europeans, Latinos, Jewish, Muslim, and others? If
they are among those who want to fight injustice either their presence is quite
small or the news cameras do not show them in any significant number.
Anyway, it’s
time to cut to the chase. To put it bluntly, Blacks in America have no “leverage”
that can be used to influence or challenge the institutions of power in America
to their benefit. In Marxian terms, African-Americans do not control the “factors
of production” or the allocation of resources in this country. What would
happen if Canadian males were victims of excessive use of force leading to
their deaths in their encounters with the police? Canada is the largest exporter
of oil to the United States, so the Canadian government would simply retaliate
by cutting back on selling oil to us. Different scenario: Chinese men were
treated the same way as African-American men as far as profiling, traffic stops
or any other encounters with police resulting with a loss of life- what would
happen? China is the largest purchaser of U.S. Treasuries they would retaliate
and simply dump them on the market; resulting in trillions of dollars in losses
and literally sinking the American economy. It would hurt China too, but I
think it would hurt us more by creating a deep recession and depression that
would take years to recover from. So, do you see where I am going with this?
There is a
saying, “Perception is Reality” but the truth is that what is really real just
might be other than what one believes or experienced on a personal level.
President Barack Obama sees America as progressing in the right way but Civil
Rights icon Georgia Congressman John Lewis sees it differently. To him,
American seems to be sliding back from all the social advances that came about over
the last forty years or so. Given the choice between the two opinions I defer
to Congressman Lewis. At the time that
Congressman Lewis was being mistreated by angry mobs of Whites in The South,
Barry Obama was probably eating coconuts and smoking marijuana with his teenage
friends in Hawaii. So, where do we go from here? Please, not another summit or
panel of law enforcement officials and leaders from the Black community; or
sociologists, mental health professionals, or clergy urging us to pray (again);
or even an appeal for peace by Beyonce and Jay-Z. Hillary Clinton mentioned
that Whit people need to try to understand about the challenges and issues that
Blacks face, but it is an introspection that she doesn’t practice herself. I
mean, she only cares about Black Lives Matter to the extent that it means votes
for her; it’s the votes that matter, not necessarily the people casting them. I
do however, agree with Hillary’s point but not the lack of sincerity and broad
smile in which she echoed those words. The question really is, “What kind of
America do we, and especially the majority of White people want- one married by
violence, racial injustice and social inequality?” Do we want to make America,
not great again as envisioned by Donald Trump; but greater than she has ever
been? Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld once said, “You don’t go to
war with the military that you wish you had but with the one that you have.”
So, in closing, do we as citizens of the United States, go into a bright, prosperous
and glorious future with optimism, hope, living up to our high ideals as the
greatest nation on earth? Will we soar to the heights or descend down into the
abyss of hatred and violence? The choice is ours to make; all of us not just
some of us.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St #701
Tacoma, WA 98402
July 11, 2016
