When Do We Stand Up to the Racist Bastards In Our Midst?

I want to be able to say that it's only a small segment of the white population that feels and acts the way Darren Wilson's supporters do. I really want to say that.

But I can't, because the REST of us haven't risen up to smack these racist bastards down. When do WE stop sitting around quietly, feeling vaguely uncomfortable because of what our fellow white people say and do, but not DOING anything about it?

If they win, if they continue to dominate the news, and the political debate, and Fox News (fuck YES I said it), it will be because WE let them. It's time for the supposed majority of "good" whites to do something. If we don't, well, WE AIN'T SHIT.

This Grand Jury in Ferguson is NOT The Last Word on Darren Wilson

This is what people don't get about a grand jury proceeding: The only evidence the grand jury sees is what the prosecutor WANTS them to see.

Darren Wilson only testified in front of that panel because the DA wanted him to. If there were witnesses favorable to Wilson's version who testified at the grand jury, that's because the DA wanted it. There's no obligation for a DA to put on a "fair" presentation in front of the grand jury. He can put on only the evidence he thinks is favorable to an indictment. There is NO "defendant's side of the story" in these proceedings.

Don't be fooled. Don't blame the jury panel. Blame the DA. This played out exactly as he wanted it to. How do I know? Because he didn't immediately call for a new grand jury panel.

I Don'T Want...

I don't want to see businesses burn. I don't want to see property destroyed.

But you know what I REALLY don't want?
I don't want young black men gunned down for not being respectful enough to white cops.
I don't want black men shopping at Wal Mart to be gunned down for handling merchandise that Wal Mart sells.
MOST of all, I don't want to see so many of my friends have to tell their sons how to behave in order not to be gunned down by police.
I don't want to have to wonder if today is going to be the day they tell me one of my friends was gunned down by police.
I don't want all this injustice, and all this fear.

So, no, I don't want to see Ferguson burn. That's important. But the other things I don't want are MORE important.

Let Me Show You Where to Stick Your Good Old Days...

This is not a "pull your pants up" moment. I see people posting stuff about how things used to be better way back when, before "these kids" started acting up, back when parents were married, etc. and so on. You know what? Bullshit.

That "back in the day" you talk about was when cops used attack dogs and firehoses on peaceful marchers; when civil rights workers were murdered with impunity, and their killers never prosecuted; when lynchings were not just common, they were public CELEBRATIONS. People took their KIDS to lynchings, they ate picnics under the trees where their victims swung.

This isn't about America needing to return to Jesus, or to a time when there was more respect for authority, or anything like that. Stop the Norman Rockwell festival of naivety why don't you? (Actually, don't blame Rockwell, that painting he did of Ruby Bridges being escorted into school was the TRUTH).

This is about a sickness that has infected the very heart of white culture for centuries, a disease that we still haven't beaten, mostly because so many of us don't SEE the disease, or when they do they don't want to fight it. And it is OUR sickness, and ours alone. WE did this, over centuries. WE built this.

You want to salute the flag? Wonderful. All hail patriotism. But make it honest patriotism. Know what you claim to love. Know who built that capitol in D.C. (slaves); who built the White House (slaves) and who cleared the forests in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana so that those states could be settled by white people (slaves again), and who did the work that put food on the table for the ENTIRE country for over 240 years (Yes, slaves). This country literally would not EXIST without the crime of slavery being committed.

To hell with your good old days.

White Privilege 101

Want proof of white privilege? The only times I've EVER had a cop act rudely and aggressively with me was when I was out and about with black friends. When it's just me, they're all about some yes sir and have a nice day. But let a white dude hang out in public with a brother, Johnny Law could well start some ish. Add a white girl to that mix and it's ON.

White Folks Be Like "Gimme The Loot"!

To paraphrase Biggie, and turn it around, the reason Ferguson-type cases keep happening is that white folks have been "Robbing motherfuckers since the slave ships, with the same clip, and the same four-five." This stuff isn't new. It's very, VERY old.

Man, That Prosecutor is a Pit Bull

The St Louis DA's examination of Darren Wilson, paraphrased:

Mr. Wilson, isn't it correct that you are Caucasian?

Yes.

And isn't it correct that Michael Brown was black?

Yes.

Prosecution rests, Your Honor.