If I may, with respect, say that most of us who are white do not have parents or grandparents who could not use white toilets, eat at white lunch counters, attend white schools or have their supposed constitutionally-assured votes "lost" in the ballot box. And worst of all, stand the very real chance of being the victim of physical violence/death at the hands of vigilante mobs or even LE.
This is our past, this is their past. Our experiences shape who we are, who we trust and how we respond. And although things are better with each generation, please remember, there are men MB's age who have family members who are still alive who lived through discrimination that hopefully, this country will never see again. But when you have a knowledge and understanding of what prior generations of your family/community experienced, it becomes a part of you.
I really don't mean to soapbox it(although I guess I am), but I can honestly say that I am thankful everyday for being a member of a privileged group. My ancestors came to this country and fought for its independence because they WANTED to. They were landowners, and yes, slave owners.
They had choices, voices and respect. They obeyed the laws because they MADE them. The laws benefitted their interests.
All I want to bring home here is that not every person springs fully formed from a place of benign neutrality. When societal strictures behoove your agenda, it is awfully easy to walk the straight and narrow. After all, your dad painted the line.
But when you come from generation after generation of mistreatment and oppression, you may not view the world the same as a person who has never had to worry that looking someone in the eye can mean you are being insubordinate. I cannot imagine what it must be like to share that mistrust generationally.
Stepping down off soapbox now. Sorry.
This post does not mean I believe MB's death was because he was black. It means that I understand the upset of the black community. Whether OW was right or wrong, remains to be confirmed. But I try very hard in my life to understand where people are "coming from" before I dismiss their views. I hope they will do the same for me.
