“VERDICT: America Guilty….again

From the Other Side of the Edge….
VERDICT: America Guilty….again
By Joe Facinoli

Race.

The Ultimate Test for humankind.

The one true and constant challenge in life, the one which overtly presents itself to all of us,….every day.

And we fail every pop quiz that life springs on us.

We just can’t get past it. We just can’t get beyond the fact that not everyone looks the same as us, nor acts the same, nor speaks the same language, nor plays the same video games.

And we never have,…..not even close, really.

We are no better now, than we were 100 years ago, or even as recent as 50 years past. We just pretend better now. And are more self-righteous,….and delusional.

And some of us hide their history better, and keep their real motives more closely under wraps.

What is it about other human beings that inflames us so, and that makes us give a fool’s damn, about where it is that someone else comes from? And when they arrived here?

Why are humans, too many of us anyway, so stubborn, so set in our ways, and so unforgiving?

Why are we so incredibly judgmental, and regarding the most insignificant things? And at what point in our lives did we learn to mistrust each other so angrily?

Why do such irrelevant considerations matter so much to us?

Other people’s skin color. Their nationality. Their religion. Their habits.

Why are these important to us? Are we not strong enough, nor secure enough, in our own lives, to allow others to live their lives in ways they choose, or with conditions which they were given, and have no choice about?

And all this puffed up drama, and creating such false threats from them, especially when they truly bring no harm, nor pose no real threat, to anyone because of these choices, or conditions?

The recent Zimmerman/Martin trial, in Florida, was America at its worst. And we should be completely embarrassed by it.

While tragic, in that a life was lost, it had no business fanning the flames of a cultural issue, racism, which nearly all Americans (or a high majority of them) would like to move beyond, to a place where tolerance and acceptance are the rule, not the other way.

The occurrences there were almost accidental, and certainly coincidental, if not serendipitous. It was portrayed by the media erroneously, and then judgment was quickly passed by them, on both participants, before even the slightest amount of real information was known.

There was reasonable doubt, as to the actual particulars, and there were scant witnesses, or real evidence that would bring any true clarity to it.

This should have been taken care of locally, with the circumstances dictating the outcome, and any final conclusions. Fairly or unfairly, that’s all this case ever was. A local, non-descript, “he said/he said” situation, in which both parties acted rashly and improperly, with fatal results.

In what context, or from what intelligent line of reasoning, should this happenstance have ever gone national, viral, and so crazy??

NONE. Never. No way.

But because that would not fit into what “reverse” racists still want us to believe, and still want to fill our simple and stupid heads with, to their own selfish benefit, this case was ballooned to historic dimensions, and filled all news slots, 24/7.

The race baiters and race mongers do have history on their side, and there are indeed, too many instances where race does factor in, to create large problems from small ones, or from nothing.

But that ignores certain realities of our culture, and where our society is, today.

Statistics clearly show that black-on-white crime happens perhaps ten times as often as white-on-black incidents. With black-on-black crimes off the charts. Doesn’t matter to the baiters.

The stats also show that black males make up the vast majority of all people incarcerated in the U.S., for criminal behavior. Simply irrelevant details to these same blind haters.

They want us to believe it is because of the “history” of this country, from decades, and even centuries ago, that the African-American race is still being “held down”, or forced to behave in this manner, because they have no other choices, nor better options.

Foolishness.

There will always be people who are intolerant of others, and people who bring hatred and violence to those they do not like.

But in this country today, the opportunities for ALL minorities, especially African Americans, has never been greater. To the point of almost being unfair to the “majority”.

This is especially true in the business world, where “set asides” allow minority contractors (women, blacks, Hispanics, etc.) who very often cannot perform up to standards, and quite often cannot provide estimates within budgetary constraints, to be awarded bids they would never receive, if all proposals were submitted blindly.

They are not motivated to try harder, or to do better, because they know they have the inside track.

Same with all personal entitlement payments, welfare, food stamps, and illegal (according to the original purpose, anyway) Social Security payouts. This is not real life.

“The culture” creates the problems, not the other parts of society. Not anymore.

When people are constantly told that they are “not good enough”, and that they “don’t have a chance” up against that terrible, oppressive majority race/culture, it becomes engrained, and learned, and passed down generation to generation.

It’s like a hall pass, or a “get out of jail free” card, to do anything they want, under the cover of perceived racism holding them back. When quite simply, it is their own attitudes and behaviors that hold them back.

And who benefits? The politicians who grab up their votes, promising that all that bad stuff will end, and that all their free stuff will continue, at the expense of that horribly mean majority.

And the sycophantic national media, almost all of them, buy right into it, and happily play along.

Why?   Because the low information folks who make up that culture, and the liberal-minded others who lack the common sense to see through this hoax, also watch a lot of television, and see a lot of commercials, which makes advertisers spend more money.

Any of this sound like fairness, or doing the right thing by a people, especially one that claims to be so oppressed?    Nope.

We demonstrate far too often, the worst and most insidious kinds of prejudice in this country.    And then compound this daily exhibition of stupidity and selfishness, by over-reacting to any and all kinds of perceived inequity or bias.

Insidious and subtle, even surreptitious, because we in this country are so better educated, and supposedly so much more civilized, than the rest of the world.

And because we recognize, at our society’s base and core, all of our citizens, and legal visitors, to be FREE, in this country.

But what good is all of that, if we show no compassion, no understanding, and so little tolerance, so frequently and commonly? Nor even a modicum of kindness, when it would mean so much, and go so far, at just the right time?

“Forgiving and forgetting”? Not with having to live up to all our narrow minded, passionate bigotries, and dedicated, racist vehemence, on display every single day, by too many, from all walks and corners.

Racism, and cultural prejudice, for whatever reason, and however directed, are born of ignorance and intolerance . But these are learned traits, not birthrights.

They are fueled by not only a lack of knowledge of others who are unlike us, but perhaps more importantly, an unwillingness to acquire any. Nor to adjust or assimilate to anything outside our own little self-absorbed, self-created and traditional “bubbles”.

Jealousy and envy, environment and life experiences, as well as a too often unnecessary need to “protect one’s turf”, also contribute to this scourge of human nature.

True understanding, friendship, and honest affection, for and by everyone within the borders and boundaries of a culture, do not come in different colors, nor with qualifications or restrictions.

Children get this. It’s the bitter and ignorant adults who have learned to hate, and then teach these idiocies to their kids, so that it is perpetuated and continual.

We DO need a discussion of race in this country. But it has to be an honest one. One with a short memory of history, and a long desire to make things right in the future.

But to make this happen, our elected officials also need to be honest.

And our Attorney General needs to stick to doing his job, that being prosecuting those who break the laws as they are now written, and on the books. And to stop lobbying to change the laws that don’t suit his political agenda.

And our President needs to keep his nose out of local criminal investigations. Even if it suits his national political needs. And even if he sees in one of them, the mythical son he never had.

Let’s be real. From the top down. And this might change one day.

Keep the Faith.

Joe Facinoli

--Joe can be reached at: joefacinoli@gmail.com

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