"george bush doesn't care about black people."
last night as i watched the largely unsurprising grand jury verdict unfold and as i listened to the smug allegations and rationale made by the ferguson prosecutor, i was saddened. then, like a lot of people, i logged on to various social media accounts, and i was even more saddened. many people were encouraging others to get registered to vote to help affect change. and by and large, the overwhelming response was that voting is pointless.
i refuse to believe this. change does happen in this country. we are far from where we need to be, but we are not where we used to be. and that is because of many before us who constructively protested, worked with others to push for changes, and ... voted. frankly, we cannot win by doing what the media portrays. the looting, the breaking of windows, the fighting - that will get us nowhere. we've got to learn "their" game, get in it, and play it to our advantage.
that includes voting.
that includes communicating with our dollar.
that includes writing to local politicians.
sadly, that means we have to tell our children that, today, their lives mean less.
that means we have to prepare ourselves and our children for the very real possibility that when we leave our homes, we may be slaughtered.
but i do believe we can change the climate by playing the game and beating "them" at it.
"george bush doesn't care about black people." we all remember who said that little phrase. the reality of the matter is black people don't care about black people. we know better. we have more tools now. we must do better. because waiting for "them" to do better on "their" own is not living our lives to the fullest, which is what we are called to do.
stop hurting your own community. be different.
last night as i watched the largely unsurprising grand jury verdict unfold and as i listened to the smug allegations and rationale made by the ferguson prosecutor, i was saddened. then, like a lot of people, i logged on to various social media accounts, and i was even more saddened. many people were encouraging others to get registered to vote to help affect change. and by and large, the overwhelming response was that voting is pointless.
i refuse to believe this. change does happen in this country. we are far from where we need to be, but we are not where we used to be. and that is because of many before us who constructively protested, worked with others to push for changes, and ... voted. frankly, we cannot win by doing what the media portrays. the looting, the breaking of windows, the fighting - that will get us nowhere. we've got to learn "their" game, get in it, and play it to our advantage.
that includes voting.
that includes communicating with our dollar.
that includes writing to local politicians.
sadly, that means we have to tell our children that, today, their lives mean less.
that means we have to prepare ourselves and our children for the very real possibility that when we leave our homes, we may be slaughtered.
but i do believe we can change the climate by playing the game and beating "them" at it.
"george bush doesn't care about black people." we all remember who said that little phrase. the reality of the matter is black people don't care about black people. we know better. we have more tools now. we must do better. because waiting for "them" to do better on "their" own is not living our lives to the fullest, which is what we are called to do.
stop hurting your own community. be different.
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