Sunday, October 29, 2017

The Real Fake News

Today people have problems with fake news.  Me, I have a problem with the real news.  Especially news about black people.  Nine times out of 10 the first local news story you hear is about a black person  being shot or a black person shooting somebody.  Then the accompanying film of the story is always shot a nighttime, under dark, mysterious, murky conditions.  It’s like they think black people only come out at night like vampires.  The black person could be shot at 9 in the morning.  But, they send the film crew to cover the story 12 hours later at 9 p.m. so everything looks gloomy and depressing.  So now I just refuse to watch the local news.  Then the opposite story happens.  Somebody is murdered in a European American neighborhood.  The news crew comes out in the daytime under a bright sunny sky.  A European American couple is standing outside their $450,000 home on their door step with their two smiling children by their side.  The news reporter is talking about the “unfortunate incident” that occurred as birds chirp in the background, and squirrels scamper around playfully. It’s amazing how murders in European American neighborhoods become “tragedies”, and “terrible accidents” while murders in black neighborhoods are depicted as typical “black on black” crimes.  So don’t worry about fake news.  The real news is the fake news!

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

NFL Players Muhammad Ali Moment

The owner of the Dallas Cowboys has made it clear.  A player who kneels during the national anthem will not play in the game for his team.  Their was no discussion or mention by the owner regarding the issue of black men being killed by police in questionable situations.  He apparently doesn't care about that and doesn't want his players to care about that.  Just stand for the national anthem dammit and give your total allegiance to his God, the flag of these United States of America.

Now we will see how his players and other players around the NFL will react. Shades of slavery days!

I attended the public ceremony and farewell to Muhammad Ali in Louisville, Kentucky last year.  Ali took a stand in the 1960s by refusing to report for duty and "service" in the Vietnam War.  That decision resulted in him being banned from boxing until the Supreme Court overruled the ban.  He lost prime years in his career and suffered financially for his stand.  Now NFL players face a decision, especially those who are members of the Dallas Cowboys.  Your Muhammad Ali moment is upon you.  The same for millionaire athletes in other professional sports.

Is the issue of black men being systematically killed by police with no subsequent changes in policy or training worth protesting by players taking a knee during the national anthem?  We will find out during the NFL game Thursday night and the upcoming games of Sunday.

We all know that playing the national anthem and parading the flag is not necessary before sporting events.  It forces us to become junior soldiers who blindly support events and actions occurring within the country, even if the actions are wrong.

Now the players on the Dallas Cowboys and other NFL teams will face a dilemma  Muhammad Ali faced in the 1960s.  NFL players, now comes your Muhammad Ali moment.  In the past thankfully not all black people accepted being enslaved.  Thankfully there was support for slavery in the United States being ended.  The challenge of stepping up and demanding that the issue of blacks being killed by police is here.  It demands action.  It doesn't deserve the issue being swept aside and robotic standing to a flag and a song.  Show us what you have Dallas Cowboys and other NFL athletes. It is your Muhammad Ali moment.

Keep Your Eyes On The Prize

There was a documentary on the PBS network in 1987 titled "Eyes On the Prize". It was about the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.  The content of the documentary is still applicable to events occurring today.  It's still available and those of you 35 years and younger should definitely watch it.

Recently politicians, owners of professional football teams, and others have attempted to change the issue of black people being killed by police into an issue over protests during the national anthem.  It is a well crafted attempt to deflect attention from the real issue of black men being murdered by police, just because the police allegedly "feared for their lives".  This fear was even being justified by the police when the person they "feared" was unarmed.  That is the reason for the protests.  It's not about the flag it's about having discussions and then efforts to stop the "MBP" Murder By Police.  Videos have been shown in the past years documenting the murder of numerous black men by police officers.  No mass nationwide call for re training of police has occurred.  The city of Indianapolis has talked about starting Implicit Bias Training of policeman.  Otherwise apparently it's business as usual for the majority of police departments in the United States.

It is very cunning to attempt to cover up the real issues under the umbrella of "patriotism", respect for the military, and "respect those who have lost lives in Wars".  No one is attempting to disrespect veterans, so stop the lie that the protestors are purposefully disrespecting those who have lost their lives in past wars.  The attempts to cover up the issues with patriotism and the symbolic playing of the national anthem shows that those who condemn the protest really could care less about the lives of black people impacted by MBP.  Thank you for your honesty regarding your feelings towards black people.  I would rather you go further and just come out and say "you could care less about a policeman killing a black person" rather than hiding behind a flag and a national anthem as you are doing now.

You are artfully attempting to get our eyes off the prize.  You want to have the real issue ignored.  Just know that we will not let the real issue be ignored.  We will continue to protest, march, speak out and take action regarding the real issue.  We will put a stop to the practice of police killing us because they can hide behind the "fear" card. 

It is amazing to see how the patriots and anthem lovers never acknowledge that enslavement of black people, lynching of black people, racism against black people, MBP and other atrocities against black people really occurred in this country.  Playing a national anthem before sporting events and having people stand for a symbolic flag does not wipe out the past or change the present. Fix the issue that is causing the protests.