White people must start "owning their actions" -Chris Rock (via Uncle Sam's Misguided Children)
Okay, so originally this was going to just be a response to
a post on Facebook. When I realized that I had to open a blank word document in
order to tackle this issue it became much more. I’m not going to meticulously
fact check everything, but clarify, attempt to define, and show what I think is
wrong with this post. Let’s start with the Chris Rock quote with emphasis on “owning
their actions.” What actions is he talking about? The post does not clarify,
but we assume that it is something negative when it is an action that must be “owned.”
While the quote does not say exactly what action must be owned, the creator of
the second half of the post apparently thinks that it is the issues of slavery,
ghettos, police violence, and civil unrest. I will try to keep my responses unbiased,
but I can’t make any promises.
"Yeah... we need to stop feeling guilty for shit we didn't do."
I'm reminded of a line often heard in social-type circles in regards to "minorities" and being questioned, detained, or resisting arrest; "If you're innocent then you have nothing to be afraid of." What this eludes to is that if the individual does exhibit non-compliance when being questioned, detained, or is resisting arrest they actually may be guilty of something.
“It was black people who sold other black
people into slavery…”
True, in Africa they captured peoples from other tribes
and sold or traded them to the slave catchers. We also know that historically
this has happened to more than just black people. The thing that people seem to
not be able to wrap their heads around is that the practice of slavery ended
just 150 years ago. So, yes, you can say that other races were enslaved, but in
the context of time black people have just recently been set free in this
country. The best way to look at the effect of this on modern times would be to
see it sort of like a “cultural Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.” It’s not like slavery was abolished and
everything was cool. No, after slavery black people where still treated
less than equal, harassed, hurt, oppressed, denied service, and even killed
because of the COLOR of their skin. That is not something that you can just get
over. While the most extreme measures are very few and far between, they still
exist. Black people DO have parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and even
first-hand experience to a treatment that some people believe is over and
done.
“…and the first slave owner in America was black.”
I know
that there are many people who prided themselves on this one “gotcha” myth, but
the first slave owner in America was NOT black. This believed “first slave
owner,” Anthony Johnson, or as early records called him, “Antonio a Negro,”
arrived in Virginia in 1621 and worked on a tobacco plantation. He claimed 250
acres of land in 1651 which he received for buying the contract of an
indentured servant. This servitude was to be for “7 or 8 years” but Johnson intended
to keep the servant longer than that. Slavery was first codified in the
colonies in 1641 which meant that it probably existed there prior to that date.
Sorry to rain on people’s parades, but they can take that whole “first slave
owner was black” argument off the table. There just is not enough documented
evidence from that time to determine when or to whom the first actual slaves
belonged. But I’m sure that the facts
won’t matter to some people.
“All ghettos in America are run
by Democrats...”
You see how this went political. It’s a sure sign that the post
has a political agenda and that is once again aimed to fire up
Republicans/Conservatives. Okay then, let’s go that route. When we say “ghetto”
are we talking about poor housing projects in big cities where “minorities”
live, or are we talking about low cost housing with collections of people who
live in poverty? Larger cities tend to have a more forward or progressive view
over the smaller cities and towns. These forward thinkers tend to vote for
forward thinkers, a.k.a. Democrats. If we see ghettos as collections of people
living in poverty then that would be a majority of the southern states and
those states that tend to vote Republican. Another thing, white people are
Democrats too. Saying “All the ghettos in America are run by Democrats…” sounds
like political and racial divide are one in the same.
“...and more
white people are shot and killed by cops than are black people.”
This is completely
misleading and is another “fact” that needs to be put into perspective. First
let’s ask from when until when? Is it saying in the past 10, 25, 50, 100 years?
It doesn’t say. Why were these white people killed? It doesn’t say. I can do
the same, check this out: There have been more car accidents than truck
accidents. Without giving specifics it becomes bullshit because it’s the REASON
for the numbers, not the numbers themselves. For example, more cars have been
in accidents because of drunk drivers. See, there is a specific reason, not
just one group versus another.
“Last time I checked, it was
black people looting their own businesses and killing their own people.”
Okay,
if we watch the news we see instances of looting where the majority of the
people committing these crimes are black people and these are business in their
own communities, which in turn affect their own communities. Now let’s look at
looting that takes place on a larger, national scale. Let’s use financial
crisis of 2008 where, these large corporations stole, and continue to steal
from the American people. Everyone was affected. Not just a black community
here, or a white community there, EVERYONE. While looting and burning one’s own
community is bad we can ignore the looting and burning done by these financial institutions
on a daily basis. And if we want to talk about killing our own, let’s talk
about the number of people who die each year because they either cannot afford
the medical attention they need, their state does not want to expand Medicaid in
order for them to be able to receive the coverage that they need, or the state
closes clinics like Planned Parenthood that besides providing abortions, offer
many other services, i.e., cancer screenings that many people in poorer
communities cannot afford.
So tell me again who needs to start
taking responsibility for their actions?
