Enslaved (verb): "cause (someone) to lose their freedom of choice or action."
Slavery may have technically ended in 1865, but I can guarantee you it still takes place today, especially when it comes to black men.
Let's look at this. When slavery was abolished, African-Americans, whom had not attained proper education, were set off into the world. It was akin to a long-time prisoner being set free. Unless strong connections are in place post-imprisonment, it's incredibly common for the prisoner to delve back into his/her old habits and wind up back in a penitentiary. So while it had to have been an indescribable feeling for slaves when slavery was abolished, once they stepped away from the only place they've ever known, it had to also have been overwhelming and stress-inducing.
Not only that, but the legal system has been biased against black men pretty much since slavery was abolished. Let's face it, it is possible for money to transcend crime. Slaves entering the real world weren't millionaires. How could they have been? If any one of them ran into legal trouble, it's not like they would get the top-of-the-line attorneys. So at the end of the day, the chances were fairly strong they'd wind up being punished by the legal system, regardless of whether or not they committed a crime. This cycle has continued to the present day. Black men are more likely to serve time for marijuana-related offenses than white men. Black men are more apt to smoking crack than snorting coke. The reverse is true of white men. Guess which offense results in a harsher prison sentence? You guessed it, crack. Due to the lack of quality legal representation for black men, prisons contain an unrepresentatively high percentage of them. The same goes for death-row inmates and executions. This isn't even taking voter-suppression laws into consideration. Especially over the past handful of election cycles, Republicans have increasingly attempted to quash black men's voting rights.
Even when a black man isn't in court or prison, he's deemed suspicious. Ever heard of DWB? That stands for Driving While Black. Why? Because if a black man is driving a car, especially if it's a nice vehicle, he's deemed suspicious. If a black man is walking around in public with his hood up, even if it's blisteringly cold outside, he's apparently up to something. If a black man is outside smoking a cigarette or talking on his phone, he could be shot by law enforcement whom mistake the item for a gun. When an unarmed black man runs away from a police officer, he could very well get shot due to being a "threat." Yes, an invisible gun would otherwise have protruded from the victim's back and shot the cop... It's gotten so bad that just recently a black man - a veteran, who had a gun permit, was mistakenly shot and killed by police at an Alabama mall after he tried to protect potential victims from an actual shooter. I thought right-wing stalwarts believed the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun was a good guy with a gun. I suppose that's only the case if the "good guy" is white.
In modern-day society, we've made it harder for black men to: Get a job; raise a family; have a career; vote; live a crime-free life; attain and maintain a driver's license; possess quality legal representation; purchase a home; etc. A black man seemingly can't drive, grocery shop, go out with friends, or even walk around outside without someone thinking he may be up to something. If he legally possesses a firearm, he probably shouldn't have one. If he's holding a cell phone, it's probably a drug-deal. If he's smoking a cigarette, it's probably laced with crack. If he's shot and killed by law enforcement officers, well, he was busted for marijuana possession that one time, so it's excusable, or he provided a perplexed expression across his face, which obviously meant he was reaching for a firearm. Even in the year 2018, many continue to be brainwashed by the notion that white is good and black is bad. When a black man enters the building, we should be on guard. If it's a white man, though, even if he's holding an AK-47, all will be well. You notice you don't hear any such stories regarding a white man? When's the last time you read a story in the paper about how a cop shot and killed an unarmed white man holding a cell phone, mistaking it for a gun? I can't remember a time either. So what are black men supposed to do? If they step outside of their homes, someone is going to think they're up to criminal activity, possibly inform the police, and who knows what could come of that as a result? In essence, they're enslaved. Legal and professional inequities, in conjunction with brainwashing, have made it next to impossible for black men, as a whole, to rise above these injustices en route to attaining full equality.
Many white people can't seem to understand these radical injustices that have been consistently enacted at the expense of our black brothers and sisters. Why? We haven't had to deal with such injustices ourselves. It's easy for us to sit back and say, "Hey, we haven't had these problems before. Why do minorities have them? Slavery is over. It's high past time they get their acts together!" We never had to deal with slavery in this country. We've never had to deal with an unfair justice system towards our race. We've never had to deal with racial profiling by our law enforcement. We've never had to worry about getting shot by police once we step outside of our homes because a cigarette was mistaken for a gun. Slavery was awful in 1850, but it's even worse in 2018. We've had how many years to try and correct the system in order to make all equal in the eyes of the law? Whites tend to like placing the brunt of the responsibility on blacks' shoulders, saying, "Slavery's been over for 150+ years. They need to move on," but the brunt of the responsibility should be placed on our own shoulders (whites), for we've allowed these enslaving injustices to continue to the present day and that trend isn't going to stop until we do something about it. As a white man, I feel it's my responsibility to fight for the equality of everyone, for if one person lacks rights, as far as I see it, none of us are free. I hope others will join me in this fight.
Slavery may have technically ended in 1865, but I can guarantee you it still takes place today, especially when it comes to black men.
Let's look at this. When slavery was abolished, African-Americans, whom had not attained proper education, were set off into the world. It was akin to a long-time prisoner being set free. Unless strong connections are in place post-imprisonment, it's incredibly common for the prisoner to delve back into his/her old habits and wind up back in a penitentiary. So while it had to have been an indescribable feeling for slaves when slavery was abolished, once they stepped away from the only place they've ever known, it had to also have been overwhelming and stress-inducing.
Not only that, but the legal system has been biased against black men pretty much since slavery was abolished. Let's face it, it is possible for money to transcend crime. Slaves entering the real world weren't millionaires. How could they have been? If any one of them ran into legal trouble, it's not like they would get the top-of-the-line attorneys. So at the end of the day, the chances were fairly strong they'd wind up being punished by the legal system, regardless of whether or not they committed a crime. This cycle has continued to the present day. Black men are more likely to serve time for marijuana-related offenses than white men. Black men are more apt to smoking crack than snorting coke. The reverse is true of white men. Guess which offense results in a harsher prison sentence? You guessed it, crack. Due to the lack of quality legal representation for black men, prisons contain an unrepresentatively high percentage of them. The same goes for death-row inmates and executions. This isn't even taking voter-suppression laws into consideration. Especially over the past handful of election cycles, Republicans have increasingly attempted to quash black men's voting rights.
Even when a black man isn't in court or prison, he's deemed suspicious. Ever heard of DWB? That stands for Driving While Black. Why? Because if a black man is driving a car, especially if it's a nice vehicle, he's deemed suspicious. If a black man is walking around in public with his hood up, even if it's blisteringly cold outside, he's apparently up to something. If a black man is outside smoking a cigarette or talking on his phone, he could be shot by law enforcement whom mistake the item for a gun. When an unarmed black man runs away from a police officer, he could very well get shot due to being a "threat." Yes, an invisible gun would otherwise have protruded from the victim's back and shot the cop... It's gotten so bad that just recently a black man - a veteran, who had a gun permit, was mistakenly shot and killed by police at an Alabama mall after he tried to protect potential victims from an actual shooter. I thought right-wing stalwarts believed the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun was a good guy with a gun. I suppose that's only the case if the "good guy" is white.
In modern-day society, we've made it harder for black men to: Get a job; raise a family; have a career; vote; live a crime-free life; attain and maintain a driver's license; possess quality legal representation; purchase a home; etc. A black man seemingly can't drive, grocery shop, go out with friends, or even walk around outside without someone thinking he may be up to something. If he legally possesses a firearm, he probably shouldn't have one. If he's holding a cell phone, it's probably a drug-deal. If he's smoking a cigarette, it's probably laced with crack. If he's shot and killed by law enforcement officers, well, he was busted for marijuana possession that one time, so it's excusable, or he provided a perplexed expression across his face, which obviously meant he was reaching for a firearm. Even in the year 2018, many continue to be brainwashed by the notion that white is good and black is bad. When a black man enters the building, we should be on guard. If it's a white man, though, even if he's holding an AK-47, all will be well. You notice you don't hear any such stories regarding a white man? When's the last time you read a story in the paper about how a cop shot and killed an unarmed white man holding a cell phone, mistaking it for a gun? I can't remember a time either. So what are black men supposed to do? If they step outside of their homes, someone is going to think they're up to criminal activity, possibly inform the police, and who knows what could come of that as a result? In essence, they're enslaved. Legal and professional inequities, in conjunction with brainwashing, have made it next to impossible for black men, as a whole, to rise above these injustices en route to attaining full equality.
Many white people can't seem to understand these radical injustices that have been consistently enacted at the expense of our black brothers and sisters. Why? We haven't had to deal with such injustices ourselves. It's easy for us to sit back and say, "Hey, we haven't had these problems before. Why do minorities have them? Slavery is over. It's high past time they get their acts together!" We never had to deal with slavery in this country. We've never had to deal with an unfair justice system towards our race. We've never had to deal with racial profiling by our law enforcement. We've never had to worry about getting shot by police once we step outside of our homes because a cigarette was mistaken for a gun. Slavery was awful in 1850, but it's even worse in 2018. We've had how many years to try and correct the system in order to make all equal in the eyes of the law? Whites tend to like placing the brunt of the responsibility on blacks' shoulders, saying, "Slavery's been over for 150+ years. They need to move on," but the brunt of the responsibility should be placed on our own shoulders (whites), for we've allowed these enslaving injustices to continue to the present day and that trend isn't going to stop until we do something about it. As a white man, I feel it's my responsibility to fight for the equality of everyone, for if one person lacks rights, as far as I see it, none of us are free. I hope others will join me in this fight.
Comments
Post a Comment