I had been asked by a few people if I would attend the Trayvon Martin protest. My answer was no.
I figured, I had said my peace about that subject in one day of ranting on this blog. There wasn't anything left. I toss a few sentences and usually look forward to the next subject matter.
But that is not to say that I am dismissing Trayvon, I'm not.
What happened to him was tragic; but there's never a shortage of tragedies that come around, in particular murder right here in Chicago. I'm going to be more specific - in the black community.
So, while giving Zimmerman a piece of my angry mind, I started wondering...what if Trayvon's killer were black?
Would he get as much publicity? Let's face it, probably not.
This is really fucked up what I'm about to say and here's why...
There's more black on black crime in Chicago than any other racial combination. Everyday, we read or witness a crime where Ray-Ray, Lil' Man Man or Pookie decided to do a walk by or drive by and an innocent bystander takes the bullet as opposed to the intended target.
Some of us will kill our own, with no forethought, no afterthought, and no remorse, every chance that they get. Seemingly, the rest of us are so conditioned to accept our race's stupid ass decisions to cause havoc on society and innocent people.
By the rest of us not being united in calling out their bullshit, we seem to be okay with these bitches selling drugs, raping women and kids, and treating our community like a mini Beirut or Afghanistan.
Our community has become so desensitized to the bafoonery, that its like breathing air and this type of behavior is almost becoming expected.
What it says is, "we're fine with you motherfuckers from the community killing us, but you better not be white or any other race, because then I'll be pissed". We'll cause an uproar over Zimmerman or people like him.
Folks, that shit is a joke! It's also a dumbass, backwards way of thinking!
Murder is murder no matter who commits the act, one incident can't possibly out weigh the other.
To me, that alone appears racist.
Whenever someone outside our race takes one of our lives, we go full throttle, the NAACP, Rainbow PUSH, Rev. Jackson, and Al Sharpton are called on to make a statement or appearance. When it is black-on-black murder, its a shake of the head, if that, and back to business as usual.
Not so long ago, I posted a story on a young man who was well-liked, that owned his own business, had a promising career, and was gunned down in cold blood by a 17 year old knucklehead from his neighborhood while coming home from grocery shopping. Shot dead in front of his home.
The incident got some press and then disappeared quickly.
So, where were the marches for this young man?
Where were the public outcries for him or victims like him?
Where were the so-called national spokesmen and spokeswomen?
Where were the local and national debates on crime and consequences?
Where were the Facebook and Twitter tributes?
Where were the moments of silence?
When is enough, enough?
I don't want to be one of those people who accepts this deviant behavior as normal.
Bad behavior should never be acceptable.
Killing our own should never be part of daily life.
Watching your community being torn apart is not ordinary.
That's why I constantly talk about how fucked up some of our folks are.
The conversations about our community ills should not just be for the barbershop, hair salon, gossip hour, or the privacy of our home like it is a secret from the rest of society.
Contrary to our magical thinking and putting our collective heads in the sand, the word is out people, our dysfunction is known beyond the community, and now it is time to start dealing and correcting our "dirty secrets".
On a regular basis, we need to start calling out the fucked behavior of some parents, athletes, and celebrities for their actions, demand they be more responsible, and we need to stop condemning the few, brave folks who do call them out.
It's like the word "nigger", we can call each other that shit all the time, yet, when someone outside of being black says the word, we take issue.
There is too much confusion over usage rights and negative history attached to that word, why we fight to hang on to the right to use it "lovingly" among each other, is downright stupid in the 21st century.
How about this....what if whites or latinos, or Asians had a word that other groups couldn't say, one that was exclusive to their group, would you think that was a bit "discriminatory"? We have to move past that word, just give it up already...we have bigger fish to fry anyway.
We will toss out a few marches in Englewood, folks locking arms while marching, chanting, "we're not taking it anymore", but until the community decides as a whole to get it together, we are fucked, and no one will take us seriously.
So, while celebrities and us regular folk are wondering about George Zimmerman, I want to see the same reaction, when the next black person decides to kill another black person.
At the rate were killing one another in Chicago, I should know before the end of the day.
