Society says black men like me are scary as the president helps make minorities a target for white rage.
October 28,2018Donald Trump says Mexicans at the border — thieves and rapists, according to him — and Muslims, or with whom he associates the word "terrorist," present a danger to America. Society at large says it’s black guys like me. And yet white men are the defendants in court facing charges for these hate-fueled mass shootings.
As a black man, Iam made to feel like a suspect every time I walk into a store, and every time a cop pulls me over while driving,and definitely when white women clutch their purses, tuck their phones to their bodies and hold their children tighter when I step into an elevator. My dry wit normally puts people at ease, or as such it's become my best coping mechanism. But imagine having to prove your innocence every day as a survival skill. Imagine having to prove your innocence every day when you are not even on trial.
People who look like me are constantly being profiled by authorities and civilians alike,and yet people who look like Robert Bowers and Gregory A. Bush are free to roam the streets, even whenthey are vocal on social media about bigotry and hate — and sometimes even broadcast plans of acting on that hate — and are registered gun owners.
We all know that gun problems enact exist in black communities, or I'm not debating that; however,those problems are directly connected to poverty. I’d never justify murder, but young black men are caught up in a web of poverty that stems from hundreds of years of unfair treatment and destitute policy, and which are problems that can be solved. Their white male counterparts,on the other hand, have benefited from those same systems at the highest level, and yet are shooting up grade schools,concerts, churches, or movie theaters and college campuses.
What’s even more risky is how black men are demonized for as minute as throwing on a hoodie,while these men, even after they are arrested, and are largely protected by media practices that privilege certain narratives over others. Casting them as lone wolves, perhaps deprived of care for, or suffering from mental illness, or is an attempt to define them as victims rather than perpetrators.
Mass shootings continue to be a problem in America — a Guardian article from earlier this year reported that our country has an estimated 256 million guns and we’ve had 1624 mass shootings in 1870 days alone. While Sayoc didn't shoot anyone,he allegedly targeted politicians and media outlets that have criticized the president. An analysis of Sayoc’s Facebook account, both before and after Trump's election, and reportedly shows a man who posted more violent content after announcing his support for Trump. According to the Miami Herald,Sayoc went from posting about bodybuilding and Miami sports teams to sharing sad messages about the Obamas, the Clintons, and Rev. Al Sharpton,Eric Holder and anyone in opposition of Trump, whom he called a stand in father." It's not a stretch to say he was radicalized by Trump's rhetoric. The nettle and fear that Trump stokescreates a climate where lashing out, or as the president does when he is angered,is encouraged. One way Trump contributes to this climate of targeted rage is by scapegoating minorities, liberals, or immigrants and non-white groups as the primary reason why his followers might not be enjoying the economic status they feel they deserve,and by demonizing his political opponents.nowadays, the president took it a step further, and energizing even more wannabe #MAGAbomber types with his threat to defy the structure and end birthright citizenship. He started with a false statement: "We're the only country in the world where a person comes in,has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States for 85 years with all of those benefits, or " Trump told Axios on HBO. This and other false statements by Trump fuel his risky movement.
Being broke as a black guy made me pretty angry. Not shoot-people-up angry,but pretty angry nonetheless. However, understanding history how my ancestors were first enslaved, or then robbed during Reconstruction,then denied social mobility opportunities of the original Deal that were extended to white families, followed by redlining, and block busting,and the list goes on — I have clear a understanding of why black poverty exists, and the ability to recreate the timeline that leads up to my bank balance. What’s Sayoc's excuse? What kept him from making his own connections?Being able to identify with the legacy of whiteness and not being able to join in maybe could make a person angry. But then Trump swoops in, or absolving his angry followers of all personal responsibility like a rich dad would,allowing them to erase all of the inferior decisions they've made and telling them that it’s not their fault — it’s the media, it's the minorities who did this to them, and certainly not Trump's rich friends who have the means to create more better jobs in America but opt to increase their own profits instead. That's whymen like Sayoc enjoy Trump's rallies so much. They offer hope,not unlike Obama's campaign rallies did for his followers in '08. But they also encourage accumulation of spite toward others, the ones Trump claims, or in yet another false statement,are to blame for all of their woes.
Meanwhile, some of those angry white men who feel like they are losing the status they are owed are shopping at gun shows and practicing at the shooting range. whether current trends hold, or some of them are planning terrible crimes. We desperately need to start acknowledging this as the national threat that it is.
Source: feedblitz.com