DON'T ASK ME TO FORGIVE THE OPPRESSION THAT YOU REFUSE TO STOP.
WE NEED MORE THAN SYMPATHY FROM YOU
It is suicidal to ask a Black man to pray to a white god especially when that white god has been silent in the face of the cruel oppression that has been inflicted upon him by white people who benefit from a system that privilege people with white skin and punishes people with black skin.” KW
“Though I walk in the midst of trouble you preserve my life. You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your strong hand you save me.” Psalm 138:7
It is difficult to live in America as a Black person and not have some anger-not to be angry.
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus would equate anger to murder and urges us to love our enemy.
I am a Christian and I hear Jesus.
I have been reading Jesus’s words a great deal particularly over the last 6 or 7 months.
I assure you I have been wrestling mightily with these words because I take Jesus’s words seriously.
However I do not believe that Jesus’s words in this Sermon mean that we should ignore evil.
Jesus himself expressed anger when he overturned the Tables of the Money Changers in The Temple and upbraided them for turning His Father’s House into a den of thieves.
At the heart of Jesus’s anger in that moment was the exploitation of the poor in a system that was controlled by the religiously powerful.
AS BLACK PEOPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT OUR FORGIVENESS IS NOT AUTOMATIC AND YOU SHOULD NOT EXPECT IT TO BE.
OUR FORGIVENESS IS NOT FREE NOR IS IT CHEAP.
OUR PAIN DESERVES MORE THAN YOUR SYMPATHY IT DESERVES REPENTANCE. IT DESERVES A CONCRETE MAKING AMMENDS.
I do not want to live with anger but I realize how deep my anger is after years and years of living in a Nation that has sought to dehumanize me only because my humanity is clothed in black skin.
My anger was always there just below the surface but reawakened and brought to the surface by the current president of the United States of America.
A president who celebrates white supremacists and white supremacy.
A president who has outward disdain for black people.
I’ve said this before but it bears repeating Donald Trump is a dangerous man.
He’s dangerous because this is not just about his personal prejudices but it is the power that he brings with him to enact those prejudices and to influence others in powerful ways.
He’s in a position of power and for almost 4 years he has abused that power.
He represents a great world power and for almost 4 years he has abused that power.
Tonight we are listening to Mr. Trump speaking to a group of his supporters in Muskegon, MI. and the only thing that he has to offer is a politics of division that is predicated on fear-nurtured by fear.
His message is empty because he is empty.
He is pathetically empty and sadly, sadly he has millions of followers who believe in him.
They believe in you and they believe in your message of hatred.
It is because of your message of hatred that some have armed themselves with weapons because they’ve heard from you that those of us with black skin are out to rape your women and move into your neighborhoods where we will bring down the value of your homes.
Hearing you say those things Mr. Trump makes me wonder if you were reading the manifesto of white self-proclaimed racist Dylann Roof who sits in prison with a life sentence because he went into a Church an executed 9 Black people who were attending a Bible study.
Listening to you Mr. Trump makes me wonder if you would describe Dylann Roof as one of “The good people.”
So yes I am angry. Call me an angry Black man.
I can live with that because it’s true.
But I want to use my anger to vote you out of office.
I want to use my anger to continue to work to make America a better place for every person who resides here.
I want to use my anger to help right all of the things that you have done to undermine this Democracy and Democratic principles.
I believe you to be a terrible scourge upon this Nation Mr. Trump.
You have done great damage to this Nation and it is a damage that will take many years to repair long after you have left office.
KW
I feel exactly what Bobby has expressed...DITTO!! I keep praying for God to remove this vile hateful evil that has turned our lives into a 1950s horror film! I am consumed with unexplainable fear, worry and confusion....how can this be? Why is this happening? Who will protect us? Why do doors of opportunities for evil keep opening for this president and his enablers??! Will we be able to trust the outcome of the election? Will he unleash Qanon in us all if he loses? If so, what force will be able to stop them? I mean, I had no idea that hate could go this deep ...! I almost wish that every person of color could be given a year to move away from this country to find a new home where peace abounds! Let the vile white supremacists have this country...then, once they discover that they were made fools of, they’d turn on themselves and destroy the very things they worshipped, soon to realize how empty and soulless they are. They wouldn’t have us to blame anymore. It reminds me of the film “The Lion King,” where SCAR killed his brother, took the land and abused it; giving the greedy hyenas control and they destroyed the land, leaving nothing to eat, harvest, grow, build upon! It took a true savior to return to destroy SCAR and give the land back to the true chosen people!!
Amen.