Here's something interesting for you: Last weekend, the Juneteenth Festival took place. The festival had no alcohol, they even had an anti smoking booth that gave out information on quitting smoking, a booth where one could register to vote alongside various other informative booths. There was gospel music that was being sung by a local church, and various food kiosks were selling plates of food. But the police were EVERYWHERE. They were on bikes, in cars, and walking around. Now, last time I checked, I don't think they need that many police for a small gathering of people listening to Gospel music and eating food. That being said, this is why Juneteenth kind of pisses me off. I love it because I get to see more Black people in my town. I hate it because of the police.
Across town, there was an art festival with alcohol, and a lot of the prices of the artwork were pretty expensive. I think I saw ONE officer and he was near the beer vendor area. I think there were more people at the Art Festival than there was at the Junteenth Festival. You'd think there would be more police at the art festival to prevent theft. Nope, they were mostly at the Juneteenth Festival.
This sort of thing reminds me of a conversation on Facebook about profiling. I asked the following: Why is it that when a bunch of Black people get together to have fun, the police have to show up in droves? Maybe they were making sure nobody stole an $8.00 catfish dinner plate because, you know that food MUST be valuable or something. :p
This was a drug free, alcohol free zone with GOSPEL Music that took place at the local college. What the hell did they think was going to go on? Were they expecting somebody to say Hallelujah too loud? Did they think we were going to celebrate it wrong?
See this is what gets on my nerves. People in this country like to act brand new when it comes to racial issues and pretend they don't exist. They say things like, "I don't see color," "We're all human," "My (insert relative/friend, or significant other here) is (insert any race other than the so-called majority here) so I/we can't be racist. Talking about it is divisive, and the only way to 'get over it' is to ignore it, just like Morgan Freeman said."
I say that hiding and pretending it doesn't exist is divisive. This country is abysmal when it comes to race relations because hiding from all of it is what started this mess in the first place. They were too busy inventing band-aids to tie people over or keep them from discussing them and dealing with them. That right there is complete bald faced bullshit. It's such an easy cop out to say, "If you don't like it, then LEAVE!" because I guarantee if someone told them the same thing when they were discussing an issue that affected them in a negative way, they would be up in arms. The difference between race and any other issue was that I was born Black and it's the first thing everyone will see no matter what I do, wear or how 'well' I speak. Contrary to popular belief, I can't change my wardrobe to appear "less black". If they truly had some love for this country, they would discuss these issues and stop hiding behind everything under the sun in order to justify their privilege to NOT understand what's going on. Maybe it's just me, but I see that as the ultimate form of treason right there.
Happy Juneteenth.
I really have nothing much to say about this video, except the commentary is absolutely correct. If you don't feel that way after watching the entire video and giving it a full listen, then obviously you really haven't been paying attention to anything that's been going on or what I've been saying on this blog. And if that's the case, why are you even here?! Anyway, here's the video:
Roy Middleton was returning home from work early Saturday morning, when he stopped by the car he and his mother share to grab some cigarettes.A neighbor who didn't recognize Middleton phoned the local sheriff's office to report a possible burglary.
Let me get this straight. A 'neighbor' called the police on Roy Middleton because he didn't recognize him. I guess if the neighbor had taken the time to get to know his neighbors, he wouldn't have had a man (who was doing no wrong) shot by police. I guess if the Black person had left a note or knocked on the neighbors door to let him know that he was going to get some cigarettes, then he wouldn't have gotten shot. Maybe he should have called the police department to let them know that he was about to go outside and get his cigarettes. Maybe, just maybe he should have had on business attire, with an American flag on his person, his social security card, his birth certificate, a deed to his house, and a current utility bill to prove place of domicile was indeed where he actually lived, I guess he would have avoided getting shot. Then again, he would have still looked suspicious because of the business suit. Maybe he should have been wearing a bright neon colored outfit so that everyone could see him. Then again, he would have been mistaken for an escaped convict or a convicted felon. Maybe he should have kept all of his neighbor's phone numbers as to alert the neighborhood so they know when he is coming or going.
I know people will read this and think I'm over reacting. I'm okay with people thinking that and here's why. I used to work for a lawn care company and I went through neighborhoods and knocked on doors while selling lawn care services. My uniform consisted of a khaki colored polo with an embroidered company logo on the right breast, khaki shorts, tennis shoes, an aluminium clipboard which contained fliers (some of which were fixed to the outside of the clipboard for easy access), a pen, and applications. I carried a bright orange and black square foot measuring tool, and a yellow walkie talkie fixed to my shorts so I could communicate with the home office while I was on the field. Your so called average person would see someone wearing and carrying all of that and think, "Oh that's a salesperson who works for a lawn care service. They are not harmful." Well, that was certainly not the case. I had been tailed by not one, but 2 police cars in almost every neighborhood I went to. I had been pulled over while walking, I had my plates ran, and I had been asked to show ID on several occasions.
I guess the logic behind this would be , "Well, you should have had a better job." << Get The Fuck Outta Here With That Bullshit.
