There have been a lot of posts about the protests around the country, some where violence have broken out, along with pictures of Martin Luther King and the Selma to Montgomery marches, pointing out that one is a protest and one is a riot. So, since from previous posts I’ve opined one can’t explain or solve complex and controversial issues with memes, I’ll offer some thoughts on how one might, using the memes example as a starting point. Feel free to jump in and correct, clarify or disagree, as one feels the need. But if you want to throw some clever meme in about how posting on FB topics makes me an “expert” and thus an arrogant ass, but posting some simplistic meme doesn’t, don’t read further, I wouldn’t want to waste your time.
The Selma marchs, along with the Birmingham marchs, not only protested the pervasive racism, voter disenfranchisement and police brutality present in those parts of the country, they also presented a constructive solution to remedying those issues. In Birmingham, it might have been viewed as incremental, but it also made a clear and incontrovertible statement that 1) racism and segregation were wrong, both legally and morally, 2) forced desegregation in Birmingham, and 3) was the catalyst to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Those were the concrete goals the march had and were for the most part achieved. The Selma march’s objective was ensuring every American was afforded the right to vote regardless of race. The photo is from the Selma march. That march succeeded with the landmark Voter Rights Act of 1965.
All’s good right? I’ll quote Lyndon Johnson in the speech he gave after the Voter Rights Act was passed:
“Even if we pass this bill, the battle will not be over. What happened in Selma is part of a far larger movement which reaches into every section and state of America. It is the effort of American Negroes to secure for themselves the full blessings of American life. Their cause must be our cause, too, because it is not just Negroes but really it is all of us who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall overcome.”
Lyndon Johnson
And I’ll ask if we’ve achieved the realization that people of color have secured the full blessings of American life? I’m a white male, I can’t recall the last time I was pulled over, or questioned, or handcuffed, thrown to the ground, and had some POS put their knee on my neck, slowly asphyxiating me while others plead with them to stop. That’s because it hasn’t happened to me. I can vote without some other POS in Georgia using his position as the Secretary of State in charge of elections, as he’s running for Governor, to deny people of color the right to vote. And then magically winning the governorship. That bird watcher in Central Park? Would’ve never happened to me, because calling 911 and saying a Caucasian male is attacking me would’ve sounded ridiculous when the police show up, I call the woman nuts, and that SHE should be fined and/or arrested for having her dog off leash. And that’s how it would’ve played out. But that’s how our society works today, someone who is smarter and more accomplished than most people, definitely more than me, acting reasonably and asking politely that the law be enforced, is accused of being a criminal because of the color of his skin and only the fact that he happened to have a smart phone to record the interaction saved him. How f’ed up is that?
The battle is not over. If you aren’t white you don’t have the full blessings of American life. You can’t go out and not fear that you might be accosted, shot, abused, jailed. You don’t have equal access to education, to credit, to many things whites take for granted. Martin Luther King knew that the 60’s were just the beginning of the road to remedy the pernicious evil and stark hypocrisy the Founder’s of this country enshrined in the Constitution: the fact that they didn’t believe all men were created equal, just that white men were equal to other white men. Is this a scree against white people? No. It’s a recognition that the laws passed 55 years ago have still not accomplished their aim, that the contradiction between the Declaration of Independence’s ideals and the Constitution failing to honor those ideals still haunts us today. It’s a recognition this country has not achieved what the promise of democracy embodies, that we as a country can and should be better, far better than this.
It’s also a challenge and a call to action. On police brutality, we need a national conversation on how we go about law enforcement, what’s its goals are, laws that comport with those goals, guidance that puts those laws into action, and how we ensure those on the front line follow the laws in practice. That conversation should include all the stakeholders, it should embody the idea that we are our brother’s keeper, it should also, raised hackles alert, recognize that having a heavily armed population makes it dramatically more difficult to safely do one’s job when there’s always the possibility someone has more firepower than a SEAL team on the other side. It should also embody the idea that law enforcement is also known as peace officers, those who protect and serve. If I might offer a conceptual change to how we approach this: Move from a Community Enforcement model to a Community Empowerment one. This is a process perfectly suited for politics done right, with sincerity, respect, inclusiveness and singularity of purpose.
Do I expect this to happen in the current atmosphere and with the current Administration. No.
But I sincerely and earnestly ask that the protesters emulate Martin Luther King, John Lewis, Rosa Parks, Mahatma Ghandi, countless others, and channel the outrage, pain and frustration into constructive goals and actions that remedy the ills, wrongs and iniquities that allowed George Floyd to be murdered in plain sight. That we will not rest until those goals and actions are achieved. And recognize that it won’t happen with a meme, it will happen with dedication, hard work, commitment and unceasing dialog that finds common ground and common purpose. If there’s a meme that can convey all that, send me the link.
Created: 5/30/2020
Modified: 8/24/2022