Rage, Hate & Wrong Actions
By now most are aware of the location of Ferguson Missouri. We know the names in the last couple weeks of ordinary people. People like Michael Brown, whose death inspired riots for days. Destruction of property, looting and tearing down a community doesn’t help anyone in the situation. It solves nothing. Others have been killed in the wake and it solves nothing.
How about the name Ralph Weems? Know that name? Probably not because Tupelo Mississippi has not been the place where days of riots happened. A group of a half dozen black cowards beat him as more watched, and the 32 year old who put his name on the dotted line to give his life if needed as a Marine is in the hospital recovering from a beating. Unlike the Missouri incident, however, 20 on 2 with not only served a beating but racial slurs called from the group it’s NOT seen as a hate crime. You see, there’s a double standard that should not be so.
Hate has no color. Hate selects enemies not for doing anything wrong but for being. Ralph Weems and David Knighten – both veterans – saw no skin color issues in those they served with. They were followed into a parking lot based on their skin color. They were attacked because of skin color. They were insulted during the attack because of skin color. That is hate. It is hate when blacks are the target. It’s hate when Matthew Shepherd was targeted. It’s hate when Ralph Weems is targeted and it’s a gross injustice in Mississippi if it’s allowed to pass because they were upset about Ferguson.
I’m upset about the targeting of veterans. I’m upset about the child killed in New Orleans by a black man, who unfortunately isn’t the only child killed recently. I’m upset about people targeting on what they THINK the truth is rather than being mature enough to find out what the truth is. I’m upset that there are black moms who can’t send their kids to the store because they may not come home. I’m upset that friends who are black don’t have the luxury of life as I do, where getting pulled over isn’t fear of being harassed. It’s a sick world too often and it makes me angry.
But I’m not organizing someone to go tear down Tupelo in protest! At what point do we stop dancing around and say enough? Wrong is wrong. We can’t change the past. Not yesterday, not two weeks ago or a month ago or 100 years ago. We can stand and say it stops now…but it doesn’t.
If there aren’t enough standing firm, talking to find a better way, tired of their kids, brothers, cousins dying it won’t be enough unless a better way is found. Our communities, our society needs a better way. It needs to be before someone else dies to hate and ignorance.
Is wanting and needing enough?
Food, Farm, Life Choices 
This was a good read. I think you misinterpreted some of the things that took place. When someone dies, people gather together to start grieving and healing from it. In this situation this 18 year old was shot and his dead body left in the street by police. When the community gathered, instead of letting them grieve the police came at them with shields and weapons. The rest was just a result from it all. I watched the Iyanla special on OWN and the police chief even to a point admitted that he and his people messed up.
As far as the veteran if that group of black people that beat him up would have been caught they’d be under the jail. I know because I had a cousin that did something like that and just by his luck they charged him as a juvenile.
You know why that veteran didn’t make the national news though? He was beaten up and survived. Michael Brown was shot at 10 times, with at least 6 bullets in him. It’s a big difference.
I agree with many points – thank you for stopping by and making them. Emotions run high sometimes. Some of those in Mississippi have been caught – others being sought. 20 people none stood up to say “this isn’t a good idea”. I get that Michael Brown died and the veteran didn’t…the extent of his injuries has altered his life. Who pays for that? The 20? I’d also seen reports of a black cop shooting an unarmed white kid – not in the news. I get that people wanted to grieve and heal – I really do. Have a friend who was there. I haven’t seen tv reports as no tv in the house here. I hope that you don’t think I am minimizing Michael Brown’s death because if that’s so I misspoke. Any death, continued life altering things is too much. We ALL have to find a better way. We all have to work together somehow against the injustice that confronts us all. And we all have different views which makes that difficult to do in the best of circumstances. Thanks for chiming in, truly. Only by talking, exploring for answers can we find that better way. May we all live to see that day.