In actuality, there is more injustice on paper than it is on your local news channel... or your favorite social media feed. I can’t even count how many blacks in America I have come across who have said that they are “unaffected” by racism. They say, “Hey I never had any trouble with the police and I have a very successful career.” I remember seeing a meme on Instagram stating something like “We bare the scars of slavery.” I found this interesting so I looked at the comments. One of them posted by a black male stated “ what scars? I don’t see any on me.” The black female who posted the meme replied to him, stating something like “ you never been racially profiled?” and he replied “nope.” She didn’t ask anymore questions. Judging by how narrow minded his comment was and how limited her question to him was, I knew that this trending topic of “scars” in regards to race in America was not being completely understood. Why are some black Americans reposting memes like this with praise emojis in the caption while others are scrolling passed or shouting "I can’t relate!” in the comment section?
The reason why all black people can't relate to such a statement is because everyone has a different understanding of what a "scar" actually is. A privileged black person is oftentimes the first one to say "what scars??" since they personally may not have had direct contact with injustice. But just because you can't see it on your skin doesn't mean that they are not there. The simple fact that our education system, voting system, job market, criminal justice system, etc function to keep the black race at the bottom is a scar. Successful blacks often think that just because they have a well-paying job and live in a suburban neighborhood, this doesn't apply to them. This is more than just you. Look around. If the majority of the people in your race can't seem to reach your status of success then you are looking dead at the scar. It all goes back to the laws people. Look beyond what your are experiencing personally, and understand who exactly our laws are giving the power to.
In regards to the recent incidents of police brutality, an article posted in the guardian stated that “ the call for ‘conversation’ as the solution then reinforces this idea that the legitimate problems with law enforcement vocalized by minority communities are really all just one big misunderstanding. Our political leaders should not begin to offer solutions for a problem if they won't even name it: systemic, institutional racism exists in police forces throughout our country.” Read. I can’t stress that enough. Read because there are a lot of crazy things written down with the purpose of keeping particular groups in a cycle of oppression. A viral video of a police officer hugging a little black boy isn’t going to lift my spirits more than putting a pen to paper.
Resources:
Image: http://www.ourarchives.wikispaces.net/DTCW2
Image: http://www.ourarchives.wikispaces.net/DTCW2
No comments:
Post a Comment