First of all I will say that I'm a senior citizen, white, female and seventy-seven years of age. Grew up working class in the southern United States in a democratic, union family. So, my views about the world I live in are definitely influenced by the environment in which I grew up. This is a first writing as at this age I don't have much faith left that anything I think or say will make any significant difference in our political system and the prevailing value of "more is better" that seems to predominate in our society.
I frequently question my liberal leanings, especially in times of crisis such as we have recently witnessed on TV, i.e., Baltimore, Phoenix, etc. etc. When I witnessed the mother who chased her son home from the Baltimore crowd, I found myself cheering. Yeah , get that young man home, you are in charge, you know better, you have more years and more experience. He may eventually decide to join the violence, however, you will continue to influence him with your belief that "violent is not the way to make a difference for your people or your personal mark on the system"
It occurs to me that deciding that a race of people are victims seems to not only affirm that they have been mistreated but also on the negative side instills in them that they are victims and therefore expect to be treated as such.
In treating them as victims of it seems to me we also give them permission to "blame" the system for their problems. We are all victims of our system and also we are all responsible for where we are at present.
Taking responsibility for who we are, irregardless of the circumstances we grew up in or our history, means we have to swallow some of the hurt and instead of acting out violently use that anger to propel us to a better way of life.It is frequently referred to as being "passive aggressive". That in and of itself is often pejorative, however, if everyone who was angry at how they had been mistreated acted on that anger our society would be in constant chaos. I know of almost no one in my age range who doesn't have a "hard life" story, all races included. Some sit with it and become victims in all areas of their lives, some get up and move on.
So, does my view that Afro Americans need to take responsibility for their own behavior, where they are, what they are doing, who they are hanging with when the police get involved make me a racist?
Being a senior citizen it is my observation that in my age group of which there are many and we are living longer so we are a definite "voting block" for political change the most likely way to make change happen for the minority communities is for the members of that community to start to take some responsibility for their own actions. Except for the Mother who chased her son home in Baltimore I have heard no one dare to suggest that the young man who was killed was in any way responsible for his own behaviors and the confrontation with the police.
No answers, just questions, mostly of self. To say I am dissatisfied with the recent events is putting it lightly. Do I have to be "for" everything and have no dissent in order to consider myself liberal or non-racist?