Regarding the killing of nine people at
the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (Emanuel AME) Church in
Charleston, S.C., President Obama, rightfully
but guardedly expressed his sadness and anger, condemned racism and
addressed the need to do something about the gun problem in our country.
Jon Stewart, however, dropped his usual
comedic skit on the Daily Show to express
his concerns over the tragedy in Charleston.
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As with Jon Stewart, this is the part that
blows my mind:
“…
sadness once again that we have to peer into the abyss of the depraved violence that we do to each
other and the nexus of a just gaping racial wound that will not heal, yet we
pretend doesn’t exist. And I’m confident, though, that by acknowledging it, by
staring into that and seeing it for what it is, we still won’t do jackshit. Yeah. That’s us.”
“You know it’s going to go down the same
path -- this is a terrible tragedy -- they’re already using the nuanced
language of lack of effort for this.”
And Stewart is right, again, the same
scenario plays out as it has in every other instance of mass shooting. The same
scenario plays out as it has in every other instance of racism.
Under the camouflage of protecting our
constitutional rights and our freedoms, and with such arguments as “guns don’t
kill people, people do,” we sweep the gun problem under the rug. Some on the
extreme political right even claim that it’s a President Obama scheme to take
away their guns, even to the extent that no one actually died at Sandy Hook or
in Charleston.
Instead of acknowledging that we continue
to have a significant “black and white” problem, we deny that it’s a problem by
finding other ways to describe it. There are those on the political right who
are obfuscating the truth by claiming that the attack
on Emanuel AME was against Christianity, not race.
But it’s in our power to solve these
problems. It cannot happen overnight or with a new law, but with a change in
how things are perceived. Change is a process; an evolution that takes place. Hate
of others, for whatever reason, the need to carry a gun, and the use of violence
to solve real or perceived problems, is a learned behavior. That’s what needs
to change. It’s been said so many times, yet never heeded, that if you change
your attitude, you can change your life, and you can change the country and world
you live in.
Copyright © 2015 Horatio Green
