The Problem with Black Lives Matter

Agreed, One thing I want to add, is an observation when I was instructing on fire arms on the side when I was a security guard. So, I had to work with a Police Sarge who graded my students on the range scores and I graded the Police cadets so it was a third party non-bias grade.........Anyway, the threat analysis taught is very very different.......and IMO it's a fine line but it has swayed to the point that everyone is a threat first as opposed to opposite. That mixed with inherent racial bias (overt or sub-conscious) is dangerous combination. This is no easy problem to fix either (I have no idea how we go back from here) but working towards and being aware of it together is a start. Thanks for keeping this conversation going Zealot it's important that we maintain this dialog.

"being aware of it together is a start"

But you have to be aware that those biases exist, and from what I see, a large section denies their existence.

rrhodes67 wrote: "being aware of it together is a start"

But you have to be aware that those biases exist, and from what I see, a large section denies their existence.

True, hopefully though dialog here and what we take outside these "walls" can help make us as a whole more of a whole. It is not something that will be very easy nor will the numbers start large but they will eventually grow (It is my hopes anyway).

@Kobos

I sincerely thank you for your continued participation and for sharing your thoughts and ideas.

I have to admit, even though I know institutional racism exists and I know how often law enforcement gets away with killing black people I really did think that this case was going to be different. Watching the video I just knew there was no way that this officer was going to get away with it. It seemed like even he knew, after he'd done it, that he'd made a serious and costly mistake. I was shocked at the verdict in a way I haven't been in a long time. Why? Because the victim did EVERYTHING right. Now, personally I dislike the concept of guns (as a weapon) so I don't own any (even though I have gone to the shooting range and know that they are fun to shoot), but there's nothing wrong with owning a gun. He was licensed to carry and calmly informed the officer he had one. That didn't matter. His girlfriend was in the car. That didn't matter. He had a clean criminal record. That didn't matter. His kid was in the back seat. That didn't matter. This guy had absolutely ZERO reason to shoot the officer so the threat should have been ZERO. But for some reason, being black (because what else could it have been?), made he him so dangerous and unpredictable, that even though he was stopped for having a tail light out, there was a chance that he would go.... what.. feral? What is it about him that an officer would be willing to shoot first and ask questions later in this situation?

If it wasn't for activists we really wouldn't know about these cases like we do. Black people would simply keep getting reinforced the idea their lives don't matter to a lot of white people and the level of fear of the police in the black community would keep increasing. Black people already distrust the police and therefore don't help them when it comes to fighting crime. Because why would I involve the police when that would put my own life in danger. Amazingly enough, in some instances people who have called the police end up getting shot. There are people who feel that the media shows these things and black people react by thinking racism is a bigger problem than it is. This isn't true. It is when it ISN'T shown and isn't shown for what it is that Black people see America HIDING its racism problem. And why do you hide something? Because you don't want to deal with it and because you want to hold on to it.

And I understand why many whites don't want to talk about it. They feel like it isn't an issue because it's not their issue; because they aren't personally racist. That's understandable. But by having that conversation we normalize those who aren't racist as opposed to allowing the racists to believe they are the silent majority. Because how could they be racist unless there were certain ideas in their heads; ideas reinforced by other whites and never challenged because those ideas are never exposed or discussed with someone who has the knowledge, will, and testicular fortitude to challenge them? If every reason for racism, like every reason for terrorism, could be pushed into the public domain, the public spotlight, and have experts discuss them, break them down, and remove all traces of ignorance.... then we'd have more progress and might potentially get closer to seeing an end to it entirely.

How? Because racism is like a religion. It is a commonly held belief that benefits from group think. The biggest threat to religion is knowledge. So therefore, ways that we can bring awareness, not only to racial issues and the fact that they exist, but also educational solutions, would really benefit all of us and help make the whole world better.

I think there should be a class in elementary school that teaches the core concepts of what we want America to be:
Freedom & Choice
Equality
Health & Wellness
Diversity
Anti-Sexism
Anti-Hate
Religious Freedom
Tolerance
Etc.



If racists don't want their kids to learn how to co-exist with other Americans then they can take their kids out of school. I feel like drugs and a lot of other problems in our society exist, in part, due to a lack of education and certain problems during childhood that don't get addressed.

ZealotX wrote: I think there should be a class in elementary school that teaches the core concepts of what we want America to be:
Freedom & Choice
Equality
Health & Wellness
Diversity
Anti-Sexism
Anti-Hate
Religious Freedom
Tolerance
Etc.

Very much agreed. One thing that should be taught to all children is Jane Elliots Brown Eyes/ Blue Eyes experiment. Not just the video of it, I think the children should experience what it is like to be told you are somehow less than another because of something you cannot change (this includes race, gender, sexuality).

I've put a video to the experiment below. A bit of a watch, and a bit dated, but definitly worth the watch.



Not the version I remember watching, but gets the point across. The version I remember watching did this experiment with kids over the course of a couple of days. Was a scary but amazing watch.

Also, there is a VR simulation of 9/11 meant to evoke an emotional response. I'd like to see that for the holocaust, slavery, etc. I don't think there's anything comes close to an experience that is happening to you.

Arisaig wrote: One thing that should be taught to all children is Jane Elliots Brown Eyes/ Blue Eyes experiment. Not just the video of it, I think the children should experience what it is like to be told you are somehow less than another because of something you cannot change (this includes race, gender, sexuality).

HIGHLY disagree. This woman and this experiment is horrible and to put children through it? The very idea at the suggestion just blows my mind away.

Now I can sit here all day and answer anyones response questioning why I feel this way however all I will say is simply this. We should never use violence physical, mental or even spiritual (this experiment is of the mental and spiritual kind) to teach lessons to anyone. Child or adult.

Anything else I have to say will detract from this thread and are purely personal based.

I am also not in agreement to VR Simulations ect ect.

If you want to teach children and adults to be GOOD. Then lead by example and make changes around you. Not enforce negative dictatorial responses for your (general) assumed "Lessons."

Arisaig wrote:

ZealotX wrote: I think there should be a class in elementary school that teaches the core concepts of what we want America to be:
Freedom & Choice
Equality
Health & Wellness
Diversity
Anti-Sexism
Anti-Hate
Religious Freedom
Tolerance
Etc.

Very much agreed. One thing that should be taught to all children is Jane Elliots Brown Eyes/ Blue Eyes experiment. Not just the video of it, I think the children should experience what it is like to be told you are somehow less than another because of something you cannot change (this includes race, gender, sexuality).

I've put a video to the experiment below. A bit of a watch, and a bit dated, but definitly worth the watch.

Jane Elliot's Brown Eyes/ Blue Eyes experiment

Not the version I remember watching, but gets the point across. The version I remember watching did this experiment with kids over the course of a couple of days. Was a scary but amazing watch.

THANK YOU FOR SHARING Jane Elliot with me!

That was really thought provoking and I watched another video of her on the Oprah show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzycqpRZ7cY

Honestly, when I come across white people like her or Time Wise my opinion of them is much higher. It's not because I dislike other white people. It's because their level of honesty and self-reflection allows them understand me and understanding is attractive. This is why I think the conversation is good. Because the more we can communicate in a healthy and respectful way the more we can build an understanding that will have a positive effect on our relationships. And as Jane understands, it's not healthy to pretend that we aren't what we are in terms of race. We try to ignore it and it's basically like trying not to see this person. And the only reason to try to ignore what a person looks like is if there's something wrong with how they look. But yeah... she's awesome.

Trisskar wrote:

Arisaig wrote: One thing that should be taught to all children is Jane Elliots Brown Eyes/ Blue Eyes experiment. Not just the video of it, I think the children should experience what it is like to be told you are somehow less than another because of something you cannot change (this includes race, gender, sexuality).

HIGHLY disagree. This woman and this experiment is horrible and to put children through it? The very idea at the suggestion just blows my mind away.

Now I can sit here all day and answer anyones response questioning why I feel this way however all I will say is simply this. We should never use violence physical, mental or even spiritual (this experiment is of the mental and spiritual kind) to teach lessons to anyone. Child or adult.

Anything else I have to say will detract from this thread and are purely personal based.

I am also not in agreement to VR Simulations ect ect.

If you want to teach children and adults to be GOOD. Then lead by example and make changes around you. Not enforce negative dictatorial responses for your (general) assumed "Lessons."

I do agree. What this woman did was horrid. But the horrible attocities that gave birth to movements such as BLM are the result of not understanding struggle or what it is to be put down just because of something you cannot change.

This would not have to be taught long term either. Teach a generation and a lesson will never die. Is it extreme? Yes. But to combat racism, which holds back our species as a whole over a thing as dumb as the colour of someone's skin, one must teach a lasting lesson.

To be able to step into someone else's shoes, to be put from the perceived "better race" to the "lower race" because of something you can't change, allows one to understand just the level of hate (self hate or otherwise) it must involve to be a racist.

My mother taught me this lesson from a very young age. I remember it well. I still see race (how could you not?), but it is little more than something that marks someone as who they are, not as less or more than their fellow man.

I can understand why you'd disagree. It is a drastic thing I propose. But if racism doesn't end naturally then I think it should be taught so that we may see the end of a frankly childish worldview.

His blade defends the helpless;
His Shield shelters the forsaken;
His justice undoes the wicked;

Above is just three lines of the Knight's code. We can spend a lifetime defending the helpless and sheltering the forsaken. We can also spend the rest of our lives undoing the wicked. But a Jedi also teaches.

His image brings peace;
His code breaks the darkness;
His legend brings light.

Above is what we do as teachers. Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he's fed for life. The same can be said for this. Teach a generation to see past fickle things such as skin colour or ethnicity, and you change the world.

I know this will never be taught in school to the level I envision. It saddens me that racism will probably live on until this world ends. So I teach this lesson to myself and my future children so that they may teach theirs, and so on and so forth. Perhaps this mindset of compassion will become more commonplace one day.