BlackSilentMaj's JumboTweets
- Do Blacks Lives
Really Matter?
Or is it all BS?
©2015
When a black person is killed by a white cop, you can count on protests. However, when a black person is killed by another black person, it apparently is no big deal. After Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, MO, protesters took up the chant, “Black Lives Matter.” Indeed, black lives should matter. But black lives should not matter just when a white cop kills a black person. Black lives should matter just as much when Blacks are killing each other. But it does not.
In the picture, a woman is carrying a sign that asks, “Is my son next?” The bitter truth is, her son is more likely to be killed by another black person than a rogue cop.
In Ferguson, 9-year-old Jamyla Bolden was doing her homework, when a crook fired five shots into her home, killing Jamyla and wounding her mother. Other than family and friends, the black community did not make her death a cause for protesting.
In Chicago, 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee was intentionally executed by a gang member to get back at his father. As heinous as Tyshawn’s execution was, there was no major protests as was the case for LaQuan McDonald.
Though the mantra of Black Lives Matter has been taken up by many Blacks, it is not what we say that matters, it’s what we do. If black lives truly, matter, we should prove it.
To date, when many people shout, “Black Lives Matter,” they only mean when a white cop kills a black person. They’re selective about when black lives matter. We should protest questionable police shootings. But those killing shouldn’t be the only times we think black lives matter.
illings. We should also protest those killings. However, when you look at the big picture, our outrage has been selective. While we are protesting police killings and their bad behavior, we have been ignoring the avalanche of black-on-black killings and bad behavior.
Now, however, many Blacks are starting to push back on the hypocrisy of the Black Lives Matter movement. Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman added his voice to the issue:
“As a black man I do understand that black lives matter," Sherman said. "I stand for that, I believe in that wholeheartedly. But I believe that there is a way to go about things and there’s a way to do things."
“I dealt with a best friend getting killed, and it was by two 35-year-old black men. Wasn’t no police officer involved, wasn’t anybody else involved, and I didn’t hear anybody shouting, 'Black lives matter.'”
“If black lives matter,” Sherman said, “then they should matter all of the time.”
“Some of it is being brought to light because of video cameras; everybody has a camera on their phone," he said. "These are things a lot of us have dealt with our whole lives.”
Blacks killing Blacks dwarfs the number of Blacks killed by white cops. But we act as if a black person is 10,000 times more dead when killed by a white cop than when killed by a black person. We have become so numb to Blacks killing each other, we don't protest and try to find solutions to this epidemic. Also, we have become so obsessed with racism, that is the only evil we see, but there's plenty of evil in our own neighborhoods as well. The easiest thing for a black person to do is to jump on the victim bandwagon. that doesn't take courage. But it takes conviction and courage to stand up for what's right whether it's accepted or not. Finally, we have to be smarter about protesting because others with different agendas will join our protests and exploit our anger to advance their own agenda.
The Black Lives Matter people can become quite upset when their hypocrisy is exposed. But when they adopt the lofty name, “Black Lives Matter,” they should expect scrutiny. Moreover, when they chant, “Black Lives... <<<<<< N.B from Jumbotweet: auto-truncated at 4K characters on index page - Click here or on the "view" link to see entire jumbotweet! http://www.jumbotweet.com/ltweets/view/135963 - Racism:
Is it a
mental
lllness? © 2015
America is becoming much more diverse than it used to be. There are more Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, Arabs, and East Indians. It is still an overwhelmingly white country, but that’s no solace to the bigoted mind.
On the positive side, diversity is bringing new skills, talents, foods, and cultural variety to our country. On the negative side, a small number of people are not coming to this country to be an asset; they’re coming to “get over,” and they are liabilities. Bigots, however, only see the negative side.
In his lifetime, the bigot has seen the fall of segregation laws in housing, employment, and public accommodations. They’ve seen the fall of laws against mixed marriage as well as resistance against interracial dating. Sports teams are now more diverse. Throw in the election of a black president, and a bigot is likely to “lose it.”
His world has changed so much, he can no longer deal with this new reality. Some racists hide their racist views and become police officers where they can act out their bigotry under cover. Or, suicide becomes a way out of a world he can no longer relate to.
But if he “goes out,” he often wants to take as many of those he despises with him. Without some type of psychological intervention, that’s how it normally ends for the extreme racist.
The Louisiana killer and the South Carolina killer are the latest to harbor extreme bigoted views and to act them out. This is what happens when hate has consumed a person for much of his life, but life has moved on.
When a person's hatred for a group is so intense he or she is motivated to lash out violently, that’s not normal. In truth, it is a mental illness. And when like-minded people set up laws to do support that kind of hatred, that also is a form of mental illness. Both racial bigots and religious bigots have a lot in common. Both are consumed with hatred.
- Country Music
Blacks made major contributions ©2015
Country music has been called the blues with a twang. Both music forms have rural southern roots. Blacks created the blues, but they did not create country music. And yet, the black imprint on this great American art form is significant. Of course, when most people think of Blacks and country music, they think Charley Pride.
That’s understandable. Charley Pride was a bonafide country music superstar who sold over 70 million records between 1966 and 1989, when he retired. Pride had 28 singles that reached No.1
It was actually clever marketing that gave Charley Pride a chance to make it big. Pride got his start when his first demo recording caught the attention of country music legend Chet Atkins.
Atkins played Pride’s demo to RCA executives. But he didn’t tell them Pride was black. Atkins used that same tactic in his dealings with country music radio stations. Mind you, these were the 1960s. It wasn’t until Charley Pride’s third album release, “Just Between You and Me.” that the country music world realized he was a black man. Charley Pride’s contributions to country music were enormous. But Ray Charles came before him in 1962.
Ray Charles opened the door for Charley Pride and for all of country music. Ray gave country music what it lacked—respectability. Before he recorded “Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music,” country music was belittled and seen as hillbilly music.
“He did more for country music than anyone,” Willie Nelson said. “Ray took country music to the world. And in some way, the rest of us country singers are riding on his coattail.”
When you listen to country music, two instruments are often featured—the banjo and the steel guitar. Both instruments came from Africa. The Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville has featured an exhibit titled, “I Can’t Stop Loving You: Ray Charles and Country Music.”
The exhibit’s curator, Michael Gray, said, “African Americans have always played a key role in country music, dating back to the early string bands and all the way up to the present day. There’s always been a lot of fluidity between R&B and country music.
No doubt, if you had to point to a particular artist and an album that helped break down race barriers, it would definitely be Ray Charles and his “Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music.”
More recently, Darius Rucker, formerly of Hootie and The Blowfish, has been making a name for himself in country music. His single, “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It,” made him the first black artist to top the Hot Country Songs list since Charley Pride did it in 1983. Ray Charles and Willie Nelson also reached number one in a duet, “Seven Spanish Angel,” back in 1985.
Rucker was the first black country singer to win the New Artist Award from the Country Music Association and just the second black person to win an award from the association. Rucker’s second album Charleston..., included two singles, “Come Back Song” and “This.” Both were number one singles.