The fight for equality has a number of fronts, and if we are to finally throw off the chains of inequality we must be prepared to change the way that we think about things. We need to realize that the chains of the past need not follow us into the future.
FLASHBACKS OF THE PAST
Last August Ninth, some boys showed up late at night in order to fight the son of John White. White shot and killed one of the boys. What makes this case of note is that White was black, the boys were white, and White thought that the boys were there to lynch him and his son. A friend of White’s son had logged onto the son’s MySpace page and had written that Aaron (White’s son) planned to rape a girl known by the boys, and the boys confronted Aaron at a party, from which White was ejected. They tried to call him, but Aaron didn’t answer any calls. The boys decided to go over to Aaron’s house and settle the issue there.
White had twenty minutes to prepare, ample time in which to call the police. Instead, his reaction was to grab a pistol and shoot at the boys.
GHOSTS OF THE PAST
The stated reason that White pulled the firearm was that he had grown up of tales of lynchings in the 1920’s. He used that as an excuse to fire at the boys, causing one of them to fall dead. Although the situation may have been similar to events of the past (white boys looking to attack a black boy under the assumption that he planned to have sex with a white girl), the reaction of the black man should have been vastly different. He should not be faulted for protecting his family, but for taking the wrong course of action. After all, this is no longer the 1920’s
At issue is that at no point were the police called. In fact, the only 911 call was when the boy had been shot. Had White called the police, and they had not shown up, White would have been justified in his mode of thinking, However, White didn’t even bother. White decided that the stories of a bygone era held more relevance than common sense, and is now going to jail because of that. It is easy to moan about the injustice due to his skin, yet he refused to make a simple phone call. If you live in the past, you are condemned to suffer for it.
DEALING WITH IT IN THE PRESENT
The Reverend Al Sharpton is attempting to stage a protest of this man’s imprisonment. While I would prefer not to speak ill of a man of the cloth, I can see no reason for a protest of his innocence. He deserves what he has he sown, and should not be celebrated for it. There is more than enough separating black and white; we should start building bridges rather than digging chasms. Reverend Sharpton’s actions serve to do little more than dig another chasm, by honoring a man’s lack of common sense.
We need to start recognizing the limits of our own thoughts, and realizing that the past is the past, and that resentments based on past actions should be buried. We need instead to focus on the future, and start planting the seeds of understanding. In the end, we are becoming our own oppressors.
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