ACCOUNTABILITY

A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he travelled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the host, and said to him, 'Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.' Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers? -  Luke 10:30–37

When I read the news report regarding the shooting of Ralph Yarl, this parable was the only thing I could think about. Yes, the man who shot Ralph must be held accountable for his racism, but what about the two homes that Ralph went to for help? The owner of the third house that Ralph went to, reluctantly called 911 while telling Ralph to stay on the ground with his hands above his head. Treating the victim like a criminal. Those people who claim to be christian while pushing forward ideas of hate, who turn their faces away from someone who is suffering because their skin tone doesn’t match their own, are not followers of Jesus. They are liars.

The only reason there is now an arrest warrant our for the man who shot this boy is because the people of Kansas City and outside it, inundated Clay county’s prosecutor, Zachary Thompson with phone calls and emails demanding justice. Don’t stop calling. Don’t stop emailing. Don’t stop constantly pestering your senators and representatives. Don’t stop demanding changes to laws that make murder legal. Don’t stop demanding proactive gun control laws. Don’t stop demanding justice for racist behavior.

Donate here to help Ralph and his family with medical and legal fees.

THE WHITE BUBBLE

New day

There are places in this country who don’t understand the outrage over the innocent death of a black woman at the hands of our law enforcement. They don’t understand it because stuff like that never happens within their own community. Not once have they been pulled over for a minor traffic violation only to be pulled from their vehicle and abused or murdered. Not once have they been followed around by a security guard while shopping. Not once have they been stopped and questioned/ threatened while walking through a neighborhood. The very few people of color that they have had any interaction with are those who work in the service industry.

I grew up in a white bubble.

In order to empathize with someone’s experience you must be willing to believe them as they see it and not how you imagine their experience to be. - Brene Brown

I was told by someone this week that racial injustice was just something “we learned to live with”. You know why it was so easy for that person to ‘live’ with racial injustice? It’s because that person is white and has never experienced discrimination due to the color of his/her skin. That person might also say that they themselves have never treated a person of color any differently than anybody else. Maybe that’s true, but that person doesn’t interact with people of color. He/she doesn’t have to be racially sensitive. In their bubble, people of color have a specific ‘place’ and as long as they stay in that ‘place’ all is well. In order to empathize with someone’s experience you must also be willing to step outside of your bubble. You must be willing to do this with open eyes and you must be willing do this with ears prepared for listening to hear, not to respond.

A mother’s love for her children is universal. It transcends race. It is a unifying emotion. So, here is a question for any mother who has lost a child. What is the monetary value of that lost child? Like, how much money could they give you and you be okay with the death of your child? Breonna Taylor’s family is set to receive 12 million dollars from a lawsuit with the city of Louisville, KY. This wrongful death suit was settled before any criminal charges were brought up for those responsible for Breonna’s death. The city, by settling this lawsuit, admits, ADMITS, that Breonna’s death was a heinous error. They admit it, but fail to hold any one accountable for that error. Now, imagine this is your child. What do you think? Is $12 million enough for you? Is that how much your child is worth?

What if Breonna had been a white woman?

There are some really great police officers out there doing their jobs every day. But there are also some real racist, trigger happy police officers out there too. Those racist, trigger happy police officers need to be held accountable for their crimes.