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Black Lives Matter – Obviously
September 5th 2020
I can not believe what I just saw. Is this really happening? No way?
Because today on the news… I saw pro-athletes who were actually forming sentences other than, “we played really hard tonight,” and, “I just want to thank my teammates and everyone who supported me,” and not just that but actually taking a stance on an issue other than sports? Black Lives Matter? Who would’ve thought? But to pre-face this article I’d like to first note that Lebron James doesn’t owe anybody anything, especially with his Akron, Ohio roots. Furthermore, we're obviously just lucky to watch him play basketball and how lucky are we to witness such a professional superstar? How lucky we all are… And what a delight it is... to see the scariest looking man in America… coming to the defense of the stereo-typed. But in all seriousness these athletes are not typically inclined to say anything at all, which in my opinion is half of the problem. Shouldn't a few of the most well known people in America risk their jobs in order to bring us a message of social awareness? Nevertheless, is being 6 foot 7 inches tall really that bad? Which then leads me to also point out that the growing tensions between some of these athletes and owners like Jerry Jones… is becoming more and more palpable from a grass roots perspective. (*And why wasn’t Kobe being talked about as a future Lakers owner? Salary Kap? And why are 95% of the owners in pro-sports white and 95% of the players black?) Nevertheless, "thank you’s," aside... the murders of; George Floyd, Eric Garner and Breonna Taylor should mark a turning point in our society. Whereby, from a grass roots perspective the credibility of the BLM movement is clear to me, particularly having witnessed the types of people who most often have chosen to become law enforcement officer’s today and having experienced mild racism with those types of people, specifically outside of the presence of minorities. However, with that being said… to put these murders simply into the context of, “white and black,” doesn’t feel entirely fair to me either. Furthermore, this issue in particular I believe encapsulates the divide between African Americans and white culture within America, today. Whereby, other than simply emphasizing the point here is that, “the business of law enforcement,” and the types of people who most often choose a career in that field (*middle class white people) often despise people on welfare and especially foreigners. However, in either case, whether a cop is a racist or not... I believe that what the American people are witnessing this year both in the killing of George Floyd as well as the shooting of Jacob Blake, is a cultural boiling point that has boiled over between un-armed civilians and people who are working a very difficult job. Yet, to be clear… I also believe that these killings have in some ways been instigated and incited by the black community and black culture within America, today. Yes, you heard that right, I believe that black culture is partially to blame for these instances of misguided violence and even the LEVEL’s of violence that have led to the unnecessary murder’s of Eric Garner and Breonna Taylor. In fact, especially in the case of Breonna Taylor because in a different era I believe that the police would be unlikely to even raid someone’s house in that fashion, guns a-blazing… were it not for modern day, “hip-hop artists,” like Kendrick Lamar and Meek Mill… going platinum for bragging about selling crack cocaine on the radio. Regardless, as these shootings occur… these same, “artists,” have earned a combined 95 million dollars for literally just instigating white people through their music (*which is on the radio). Or rather, I should ask the question, "does race baiting in hip-hop music have a cost?" And I believe that that answer is, "yes," it surely does. “I don’t smoke crack mother-f***’er… I sell it.” -Kendrick Lamar, who’s rap career has netted him an approximate total of 75 million dollars… in personal earnings. “I haven’t stopped listening to Kendrick’s new album.” -Lebron James, leader of the BLM movement… https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/lebron-james-kendrick-lamar-damn-album/ “I remember being on the block, selling coc.” -Meek Mill, who’s rap career is almost all that anyone knows about him personally… and who has earned approximately 20 million dollars promoting the sale of crack cocaine in his, “music.” Whereby, I’d like to point out that these 3 quotes in particular… were probably heard by over 100 million people on FM Radio, nationwide. So, in that context and in my opinion what you're seeing right now with these officers, most of whom are white and most of whom are frustrated with their 60,000$ a year salaries, are people who are lashing out over finances and this constant, “race baiting over money/success,” by minorities on the radio. And to further emphasize that point… let’s examine the finances of an average police officer… with 2 kids and a wife. Police officer’s tend to work long hours and sometimes long weeks and their wives typically need a second automobile… which is nearly 25% of their income. (*Did I mention that I hate the Ford Motor Company as well?) Then police officers typically also want to see their children go further in life than they did. So then they’re going to want to save money for their kids to go to college and that’s another 5-10% of their monthly income. Then police typically don’t want to live in a crime riddled neighborhood like the kind that they patrol everyday… because they spend enough of their time dealing with crime at work. So then they need a middle class housing situation and that’s usually another 35% of their income. Then with all of those factors compounding the stress of policing itself, an already difficult task in America, I believe that this is leading to these senseless acts of violence which are then catalyzed by socio-economic frustrations that are built up over years on the job. Furthermore, I believe that all of these factors are now leading to the senseless acts of violence which have become a bi-weekly occurrence in our everyday news cycle. Yet, do you hear Lebron James saying that? Or do you see Nike pandering to their demographic? "Black Lives Matter?" That was your big decision guys? How bold of you... as athletes... to say so little on behalf of your race. Yet, which athlete is constantly talking about his struggles with poverty as an adolescent? Literally all of them give the same interview it feels like... Which also leads me to my counter point… how many officer’s are senselessly being killed by black men, particularly in urban environments? Or are those statistics racially biased because of decades of, “racism,” and at what point do homicide statistics concerning race… start to matter? Which is to say, do disproportionate killings by black or white Americans signal an issue with race or culture? And if this issue is entirely, “ethnic in nature,” than why aren’t we ever told about those statistics? And is Fox News even allowed to give us those statistics? Or is racism during the early 1900’s, 1950’s and 1960’s just going to forever justify urban crime in this country? Why don’t we ever hear about black men killing cops? And is that reporting considered racist? And should it be? And what if suicide statistics were tied to ethnicity? Would that too be considered racially biased reporting? (*By the way... also notice how suicide statistics are about even right now amongst; Asians, whites, LGBTQ and African Americans. Whereby, race apparently affects a lot of decision making these days.) So what are the solutions and how much does race baiting in arena’s like hip hop impact the relationships between grass roots civilians and police officers? Because I would say that hip hop music impacts racial tensions quite a bit… and I would further emphasize that not only are minorities basically instigating violence with the police through their, “culture / art,” but they’re continuing to do it in a way which that is often tasteless and degrading towards police. In fact, I believe that this selfishness by individuals in turn has incited many of these incidents of violence towards the black community at large including but not limited to the killings of; George Floyd, Eric Garner and Breonna Taylor. So, to be clear and in conclusion,, I do NOT entirely support the Black Lives Matter movement nor do I see the same accountability being taken by minorities as is taken by police officer's! And this is particularly true in terms of minority's becoming police officers themselves! Furthermore, if more minorities became police officers themselves than I believe that this issue wouldn’t be such a problem. And would a black cop have shot Jacob Blake? Well it’s hard to say when a majority of jurisdictions have a disproportionate amount of minority officers on the force. So was Kendrick Lamar’s lyric, “I don’t smoke crack, mo****er I sell it,” not meant to anger the police? Or how about when Drake said, “awesome verse Meek,” and approved his crack dealer anthems for the radio? Did you think that the police were just going to call it, “art?” And in this way, I find that these acts of senseless police violence are just as much Kendrick Lamar and Meek Mill's fault, as it is the fault of the police officer's who pulled the trigger themselves? -William Larsen, CiviliansNews.com PS: Sell that Dre... ierecordings.com... but I’m a, “culture vulture,” so you can keep that culture. And again, all you ever did was use Eminem to date white women anyway. So, basically what I'm saying is, “f*** Snoop, f*** Dre and f*** Death Row?” Basically. |