Friday, September 23, 2016

Why do we have racial unrest today? (#1 of 3)

I watch sports to get away from the concerns I have with the world, country and my life.  For me, sports has always been about performance, not personalities or beliefs.  Yes, that is an artificial and protected view of life, but it provides a certain solace for a period, after which I have to go back to living life.

Suddenly, that solace has been taken from me.  And my reaction has been anger.  All my life I have dealt with people of all races, colors, and creeds on the basis of their performance and character; do they do what they promised, and are they truthful...these are the rules in business.  In my personal life I gravitated to people with the same moral outlook and conversational interests.  In listing business associates and acquaintances, I would have to think twice or three times to even try to identify the race, color or creed of those I know...those considerations are unimportant and unworthy of notice.

But all of a sudden I have strangers accusing me of being a racist and being responsible for someone else's happiness, well-being and/or "feelings."  Hogwash!  No one cares about my feelings either, but that doesn't mean that anyone is doing or intending  me ill.  That is not their responsibility.

So,...fine, I can dismiss the whole thing as being the creation of a group of narcissists who want "someone else" to be responsible.

Except, maybe that is not the intelligent thing to do.

The people demonstrating and rioting, clamoring for "something" while damaging property and hurting people, are clearly motivated.  Yes, some of them are criminals and others are just looking for "free" stuff.  But others clearly perceive themselves to have valid grievances and want something done.  And that kind of emotional response doesn't come overnight or from just one or two incidents.

Certainly I don't know about the quality of life about which they are complaining.  I have been stopped by police over the years for traffic incidents; I have always been conscious of their concerns about my being a potential danger, and have been extremely careful about obeying their instructions exactly, and asking permission for any movement I would like to make.  I have had some interaction with officers who "had an attitude" but simply put it down to their having a bad cay and dealt with the situation by being formally polite.  But some of the more logical lucid observations by some demonstrators indicate that their experiences have been different...even to the point of disrespect (an often overused term, these days).  They want that stopped...particularly in light of their seeing such an attitude leading to unnecessary deaths from civilian/police interactions.

I know that, if all this is true, I am not to blame.  But...then, who IS to blame?

Clearly, the things that the demonstrators complain about didn't just start in the immediate past; it takes time for frustration with a situation to develop to the point that any group will be large enough and angry enough to destroy property of their neighbors and friends, loot stores, attack and kill police.  So...how and why did this situation come about?

Perhaps if we investigate (to solve, not avoid or postpone) we can get insight sufficient to point us toward solutions rather than cover-up.

                                                (To be continued)