“It is so easy to be hopeful in the daytime when you can see the things
you wish on. But it was night, it stayed night. Night was striding
across nothingness with the whole round world in his hands . . . They
sat in company with the others in other shanties, their eyes straining
against cruel walls and their souls asking if He meant to measure their
puny might against His. They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their
eyes were watching God.”
― Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God
― Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God
I'm
not the most vocal person - never have been, never will be. In fact,
often those that are incredibly and consistently vocal make me tired.
And the kind of people who are always ready to talk politics or debate
an issue, I often find exhausting.
Part
of my preference for silence comes simply from not enjoying the
spotlight or extra attention. But I also understand that words are
powerful. And for whatever reason, when people like myself, or my
mother, do finally decide to speak, people make often it a point to
listen because it happens so rarely. So great power and great
responsibility and all that.
But I will say this...
Law
enforcement officials have a job to do, and the ones responsible for
the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile did theirs poorly.
Even though both men had guns on them, the situation should have been
handled differently, and certainly should not have resulted in death.
There are people who have committed greater offenses and have been
granted infinitely more patience. And to those of you ready to defend
the officials, not all of you are coming from a biased or malicious
place. But please understand that for those of us with black fathers,
brothers, uncles, cousins, and sons, it is hard to witness someone
defending these officials and not feel hurt and/or disappointed. It may
not be entirely fair, but it is where we're at right now.
It
is thoroughly senseless that there were five killed and more wounded in
Dallas last night. The answer to death is not more death, nor hate to
more hate, or violence to more violence. These snipers have solved
nothing, and instead have made things unnecessarily worse. They took
(from what I have gathered) a peaceful gathering for an already terrible
situation and brought the whole thing even further back into a
sickening place. To anyone wanting to defend these killers, there is no justification that makes any of this okay and I cannot imagine how someone could try to offer one.
All
of the guilty in both instances will be held accountable. I am not
saying that all will be brought to justice by us here on Earth. Most of
us know enough and have seen enough to know that may not happen to all
of our satisfaction. But I believe they will ultimately be held
accountable, which is why I started this post with the quote from Their Eyes Were Watching God
by Zora Neale Hurston. After hearing about Alton Sterling, I have been
repeating John 14:1 to myself where Jesus says "Don't let your hearts be
troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me." The reality is that cops
committing violence against black men isn't a new thing in the US.
Because of camera phones and social media, there is just evidence of it
that can quickly be spread to a large audience. So instead of being
stuck in an unbearable heartsickness that is all to easily to fall into -
especially while reading comments sections (which I do not recommend)
or just general Facebook posts (it's best to be cautious with these too)
- or just a general paralyzed feeling of helplessness, I choose to keep
my eyes on God. He is certainly up to something, and he would not want
those who choose to live in fear to steal the joy of those who refuse
to.
