Lets get a few things out
the way about me before diving into the meat and potatoes of my
argument. I am white and I am in my mid 50's. I recently retired
after a thirty year career in teaching. My parents were the first of
my family to be born in the United States and while I was raised in
the comfort that comes with having a father who was a doctor in a
community that was mostly affluent and almost all white, I was raised
to believe that the color of ones skin does not matter as much as
what the person in the skin does with their life. I was the only one
of eight children who was present when my father kicked his father
out of the house before Sunday dinner because he refused to not abide
by my dad's request to refrain from using the “N” word in the
presence of his kids.
With all that said, I
have to state that it is time for the excuses to end from the “black
community” claiming they are not given a fair shake in this world.
No one is. Some of us are born into better circumstances than others
but there comes a point in life when you have to stop using your
circumstances as an excuse. All parents, rich or poor, have within
them the ability to support or reject the expectations of the society
they raise their children in. Eventually, their children will reach
a point in life when they have to stop using their circumstances as
an excuse for their position in life. When the parents of Ferguson,
and communities like them, have been given plenty of opportunities to
advance themselves or their kids lives but choose not to, they have
themselves to blame for their anger.
Over the course of
thirty years of teaching, I had the honor to teach and coach kids of
all ethnic backgrounds. I once taught in a small “redneck”
community and had a colleague with over thirty-five years experience
tell me he just got his “first colored kid” for a student. When
I told him I had previously taught classes in southern California
where two thirds of the students were black, he sincerely asked me
how to “teach them.” When I told him to teach them “like they
were white,” he realized how stupid his concern was.
I have also had my
share of Hispanic, Arab, and Asian students, along with almost any
other ethnic group you can think of. However, only one group,
blacks, ever played the “race card” with me and claim their
behavior or poor progress was my fault. When I would compare their
work to their black classmates and point out how successful most
others were doing, I was often surprised to see not only the student,
but their parent stick to their argument.
As I write this, all
hell is breaking loose in Ferguson over the police killing of Michael
Brown. Was he shot by a racist cop? Not likely. Why? I can only
argue that if a racist cop of any color wants to kill a young man, he
is not going to do it in broad daylight on the town's main drag. He
would be more apt to pick up a youth late at night while on patrol
and drive to some remote spot and kill him. It does not make sense
to commit a hate crime in front of Michael's peers.
It makes more sense
that Michael panicked when he realized he was about to be picked up
by the police after doing a strong armed robbery earlier in the day.
Why is it a conspiracy to release a tape that hopefully will get the
public to understand why Michael may have placed himself in a bad
situation with the law? Why is it hard to believe a young man may
have compounded one mistake with a worse mistake? Why is it hard to
believe this young man may have felt empowered to disregard the
authority of the law when we live in such a politically correct and
sensitive society? Why is the cop a murderer before we know whether
or not Michael may have been on something like PCP? Instead, the
white cop is a murderer and the “black community” of Ferguson
feel they are entitled to a form of justice not allowed under our
Constitution?
Ferguson residents
claim white police “over reacted” to their protests causing
blacks to loot and riot so the state brings in a well qualified and
respected black law enforcement officer to run the show. What
happens? The community continues to riot and loot. A curfew is put
in place and it is ignored while more looting and rioting goes on.
Instead of bumping up the curfew from mid night to say dusk, the
curfew is instead lifted and the rioting and looting continues.
When all of this is
pointed out, the public is told the rioters and looters are a small
minority and most are from out of town. However, the “black
community” of Ferguson refuses to hand over these law breakers to
the police so the trouble continues.
Tear gas and stun
grenades are used to quell the disorder and the “black community”
claims this is excessive on the law's part. However, when the law
pleads for people to clear the area they ignore the pleads and expect
to not face harsh consequences.
Meanwhile, we have
plenty of other minority groups in this country who take a different
approach to life in America. I can't tell you how many parents of
students from other parts of the world have come to our country and
sacrificed greatly so their children can take full advantage of the
educational opportunities here. They keep close tabs on their
children and let them know they expect them to work their hardest so
they may enjoy a better life. They drill the meaning of the word
respect into their children and do not make excuses for them if they
perform or behave poorly in class and it's never the fault of an
oppressive American government.
I also have to say that
the “black community” I speak of is not representative of all
blacks in our nation. Just as with other minority groups, I have had
a great deal of parental support from black parents who have drilled
an expectation of excellence in their children. They do not make
excuses for them but rather make it clear they expect the most from
their kids. However, I have seen these students ridiculed by the
“black community” for being sellouts or “too white” because
they choose to follow the path that increases their chances for
success later in life.
The time to use ones
skin color as an excuse for behavior or refusal to conform to the
norms of society are over. The time to blame others because of their
skin color is also over. Are there racist cops out there? Sure.
There are racists everywhere and not all of them are white. However,
in a community like Ferguson where blacks are an over whelming
majority, they would accomplish more good by making full use of the
educational opportunities afforded to them to better their lives.
They can then become the cops, teachers, doctors, lawyers,
architects, nurses, and business owners of Ferguson. They can
control the local politics by running for office rather than running
from responsibility.
The people of Ferguson,
and the scores of communities big and small like them across this
nation, have only themselves to blame by choosing to wait for a flash
point to have an excuse to blow off their anger. The people they
should be angriest with are the ones they see when they look in the
mirror for failing to reinforce the American dream into their
children and respecting the values of a multicultural nation that
affords them the freedom to express their anger in the manner they
have.
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