“A smile or a tear has no nationality; joy and sorrow speak alike to all nations, and they, above all the confusion of tongues, proclaim the brotherhood of man. – Frederick Douglass.”
On September 10th, the Kansas City Chiefs prepared to defend their NFL title against the Houston Texans. Before the game, the players, in a sign of unity, decided on their own to stand together and lock arms in support of Black Lives Matter. It was a moving tribute, and one that you would expect would be universally applauded by a so-called enlightened society. Yet as the cameras rolled, a nation heard boos emanating from the crowd.
Sad yes, unexpected no. There remains a segment of America that does not or wants to relate to the tears shed when a person of color’s life is needlessly taken, or the sorrow when yet another incomprehensible acquittal is met with indifference. To that segment of America, the tears and suffering are not theirs and, as such, have little importance.
When the tears and sorrow turn to anger do they see it but make no mistake, they do not know the reason for the anger; they see only how it impacts them—their comfort level interrupted by those they label as troublemakers’ anarchist.
“The white man’s happiness cannot be purchased by the black man’s misery.” – Frederick Douglass.
Those who booed the moment of unity are a relic of America’s past. A time when segregation was the rule of the day. When the desire to learn about other races, cultures, and religions was deemed unnecessary when one group’s pain was looked at as their pain and not America’s pain, in 2020, the Coalition of the Righteous, a group of all races and nationalities coming together to rebuke this thinking is starting to change this mindset. However, this mindset still simmers beneath the American surface and is stoked by President Trump. His plan is one of fear, hate, and racism; it is designed to keep Americans divided. To ensure that they fear and hate each other to such a degree that they will never look to understand each other. To never appreciate the pain and sorrow one group feels when faced with racial and social injustice.
“the prejudices people feel about each other disappear when they get to know each other.” – Captain Kirk, Star Trek.
On September 10th, they booed a show of unity, they are the past, and one day the future of America will boo them for their booing.
Carl's Place 