Black Lives Matter

Racial equality is an issue that is close to my heart and something I have fought for throughout my life.
As a white male though, regardless of my friendships, familiar relationships, conscience, actions and deeds, I will never know what it means to be a person of color in the United States of America. I can’t have that perspective, even though I have experienced a decent amount of social isolation, having grown up with alopecia.

Do I think things have gotten better since the Civil Rights act of 1964 and the United States is less racist? The data implies this is true, but we are not nearly where we should be almost 60 years later. We are still very far from that “Great Society” MLK, LBJ, JFK, Medgar Evers, Lincoln and millions of others have fought for. 

In many ways things have gotten worse, especially in my beloved New York State. Segregation in our public schools actually increased, and as a society we seem more divided than ever before. Do the media and more specifically social media have a hand in this? Yes of course.

I have friends and family members who proudly and righteously work in law enforcement and feel exactly the same way I do. They love all people but understand the need to reform the way we vet and train our law enforcement officers. They agree that race has come into play for some of these tragic deaths, but that it is more specifically woefully poor training. Currently, in many states you can be a gun toting officer in less than 6 weeks of mostly classroom preparation! They feel with the correct training that you would see a vast reduction in these atrocious and heartbreaking events.
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I think during this highly politicized time, we need to be much more objective and reflective. If you are someone who is not an African American or person of color, I think it’s important that you reflect on your thoughts, your inaction, listen to African Americans and to take a stand to squash racism and inequality whenever you see it. And if you are an African American or person of color, take the time to put yourself in that officer’s shoes and know that they are trying to do a job to protect society and that you should not assume they are racist. You should also know that they are on the front lines often fighting against a system that has stacked the cards against them and made their already difficult split second choices even more difficult than before.