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Black shoots back

UPDATE

9 July- this post was written early on July 8, after reading an early NYTimes article that said:

Five Dallas police officers were killed and six others were wounded by snipers on Thursday night during a demonstration protesting shootings by officers in Minnesota and Louisiana this week, the Dallas police said.

The police believe four suspects coordinated the attack with rifles, Police Chief David O. Brown said, and positioned themselves in triangulated locations near the end of the route the protesters planned to take. The police had three people in custody and were negotiating in the early-morning hours with a fourth, who was in a garage in downtown Dallas at El Centro, a community college.

Source: Snipers Kill 5 Dallas Officers at Protest Against Police Shootings – The New York Times [1]

This was before Micah X Johnson was identified as the sole shooter, and blown up with a robot delivered bomb, to which I have other issues with.

Dallas Texas. It’s not the first time a shooting there will profoundly change the course of American history. JFK’s assassination left an indelible mark upon our nations psyche, and the killing of five law officers and wounding of others will mark a turning point.

It’s been a long time since armed blacks have struck back at a country that has systematically discounted the lives of those of color. While we may have heard of John Browns raid on Harper’s Ferry- where a white man lead black slaves to take over an armory, or the Black Panthers of California to begin open carry patrols in the late 60’s – our history texts gloss over other stories of revolt.

The shooting in Dallas won’t be glossed over.

Nor will it be the last time it happens until things change in this country.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who had his life cut short by a gun, is probably turning over in his grave. He was a believer in non-violent opposition as a solution. Others, like Malcom X, who had his life cut short by a gun, is probably thinking- I tried to tell you this would happen…

But lashing out at cops, while clearly a symbolic message- you shoot us, we shoot you, is not the answer to the problem. Our system has lost its moral compass, we’ve criminalized our society to the point that we, the country of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” has become the largest land of incarceration on the planet. We’ve systematically allowed an entire race to be marginalized and discounted. We’ve created economic segregation at all levels that has totally unleveled the playing field, so that only a few can really enjoy that “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

The enemy isn’t the police- it’s the laws that allow us to have different standards for different people. Take the rise of private police forces- the local universities, hospitals and even Metroparks have their own police departments- carrying guns, but not reporting to us or anyone we elect. Ask Samuel DuBose how that worked out for him in Cincinnati?

How does a broken taillight end up a death sentence? Philando Castile wasn’t the first. It wasn’t that long ago that a broken taillight was a death sentence for Walter Scott.

Think about that. A $2 lightbulb out = death sentence? Is this the country our founding fathers imagined?

It’s not even about guns anymore. It’s genocide. We don’t have to wear swastikas, or build death camps, we’re doing it because we “love our freedoms” that are enabling our country to have the casualties of war without the formality of it.

Let me break it to you slowly and clearly- only poor people are being incarcerated and killed. Yes, a majority of them are minorities, but, they all share one thing- they ain’t the rich white men who are running this country into the ground in pursuit of the almighty dollar.

And make no mistake about it- guns contribute to their profits. From the sales of guns and ammo, to the medical care for victims, to the security systems, to the private prisons, to the caskets, rich people are happy to let the poor play in the streets with guns. It’s good for business.

Students of history know that class warfare is almost always the reason for falls of empires, yet, we’ve ignored it, allowed the gap to widen, and now, we’re seeing the first shots taken.

Will the shooters be heroes? Or the cops who died? Or will this be a wake up call? History has a strange way of picking turning points in the aftermath.

All I know is that while Black Lives Matter, this is really a bigger issue. Much bigger.

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Zakiya

Wow. Didn’t ever think I would say this…..but I agree!

dexalin

From Malcolm’s “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech:

“But today this country can become involved in a revolution that won’t take bloodshed. All she’s got to do is give the black man in this country everything that’s due him. Everything. I hope that the white man can see this, ‘cause if he don’t see it, you’re finished. If you don’t see it you’re going to become involved in some action in which you don’t have a chance.”

Ronald Gable

I agree with you David, our country has become a nation of angry old white men pouring many millions of dollars to maintain white supremacy! As to the killings in Dallas; it’s a rotten shame that innocent white police and bystanders were killed and injured because of the hundreds of innocent blacks killed by white police!

Our Nation was founded upon Christian principles; stop, look and listen to what it has now become. Is this what thousand of brave American solders have died for? Is this the kind of rights they were trying to protect? Is this what Christ died on a cross to forgive? Please consider what’s going on around us and join with me to be part of the human race, stop the hate and love your neighbor.

Dave C.

Miles Davis became the wealthiest Jazz musician in the world by simply reading his recording contract and demanding that he be paid per the terms of the contract. The previous generation of Jazz musicians (Louis Armstrong et al) mostly accepted whatever the overwhelmingly white record execs decided to pay. Miles wouldn’t back down, and he got paid. The power of his artistry and his forceful personality was greater than the power of the old white guys running the recording industry.

Old white men are clinging to power, money and privilege. Black men are standing up for their rights, a process that began decades ago and continues. The armed conflict between the Black community and the police is just the tip of the iceberg, the public manifestation of this ongoing struggle.

I am an old white guy. It’s time for guys like me to make room at the table for everyone. Only then will the violence stop.