I grew up on the North End of Saint Paul Minnesota.
It was a shit neighborhood then, and it’s worse now.
Because I was the subject of regular harassment and ass kickings by the neighborhood white gangs, I learned kung fu, and taught myself how to sword fight.
I used to practice in the alley behind the house at night.
One night I was out back training... Got a little bit overzealous,
And made my way out into the streetlight with a shiny three and a half foot katana.
Presumably it was my neighbor and longtime rival Anthony who saw me and thought it would be fucking hilarious to call the police.
At the time, I had no idea, I just looked down the street and noticed some squad cars converging on my location, searching with their spotlights. I stowed my katana, and returned to the street with a six foot wooden staff, not even considering they might have been looking for me.
I figured it out when they surrounded me with three squads, two officers stepped out of their cars into cover opposite me, and unholstered their sidearms.
I did not put down my weapon.
Instead, I engaged them in debate.
They said they got a report somebody was out waving a sword around.
I said I’ve been out here for a half hour, and I didn’t see anybody with a sword.
My staff is covered in duct tape, and looks sort of metallic.
Maybe somebody mistook it for a sword?
The officer informed me I would have to return to my home.
I asked him if it was illegal to be outside, on the boulevard, with a big stick?
He replied that it wasn’t but if I wanted to argue he’d be happy to haul me in for disorderly conduct anyway.
It was at this point that I returned to my house, rather than go to jail.
It was at that same point that I would have probably been rendered nine millimeter swiss cheese if my skin were a different color.
That is my white privilege.
I’ve been white for thirty two years, and it has afforded me many privileges.
However, it did not protect me from the other white people kicking the shit out of me.
It didn’t stop the police from robbing my house or impounding my car for blocking my own god damn driveway.
It hasn’t magically made me a valuable asset to the economy with great job prospects, or even my own bank account, house, car, or full time employment.
I’m white, and not hideously ugly, have an IQ of 138, and my employment history includes lawn care, carpet cleaning, line cooking, and telemarketing.
I’m not undesirable because I’m white.
If I were black, it wouldn’t be because of that either.
It’s because I’m poor,
And I’m not subservient enough.
I don’t do what I’m told just because someone tells me to do it.
I actually require reasons for the things I do.
I ask questions, and if they don’t get answered, I don’t proceed.
So because I’m not a servile drone, serf, peasant, proletarian or whatever you want to call modern slaves… Because I resist slavery, I’ve always been an outcast.
If you’re whatever color, and you march to the beat of a different drummer, you’re going to be oppressed heavily in America.
And if you’re black, you’re probably not going to notice whites “being oppressed” because they’re not oppressed nearly as much. But if you’re black, you’re not oppressed as much as Native Americans.
Statistics sourced from:
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2015/jun/01/the-counted-police-killings-us-database
Police shootings, by
RACE & ETHNICITY PER MILLION
TOTAL for 2016:
5.49 Native American
4.36 Black
203 Hispanic/Latino
1.73 White
0.61 Asian/Pacific Islander
If we look at this instead, by the numbers,
343 White
174 Black
115 Hispanic/Latino
13 Native American
10 Asian/Pacific Islander
So if we’re going by statistics, which we seem to be, the signs should say,
“#NativeAmericanLivesMatter”
And if we’re going by the raw totals,
“#WhiteLivesMatter”
So what exactly is the standard by which we’re measuring this brutality?
What I find interesting, that the media never talks about, is that (as of today) out of 706 people killed without trial by police in the United States in 2016, do you know how many were rich?
Zero.
No rich black people, rich white people, or even rich natives were shot by police so far this year.
I wonder if that’s a big fucking coincidence.
#PoorLivesMatter
There you go. That covers most of the black folks, most of the white folks, the natives, asians, pacific islanders, the whole lot. It doesn’t alienate anybody.
The white people have a higher kill total because they are the majority.
Anyone trying to fight the power needs the support of the majority.
It’s easy to get it.
All you have to do is realize that police kill poor people.
Not just black people.
If we respond to racism by becoming racist,
Even if we win the fight,
Nothing changes.
Segregation is what got us here.
It’s exactly what will keep us here.
The media knows this. It’s why they give #BlackLivesMatter so much coverage.
They know it will exacerbate the situation, and keep them in control of all of us.
The only chance we have is to band together against the oppression of poor people, all of us who are poor, together, all at once. If we come together under the wrong banner, with a message that alienates or excludes anybody, we will fail.
We cannot simultaneously stand upon and against the government.
We are dependent on them for our survival. For our food and water.
As long as that is true, they will always be in control.
If you want things to really be different, come together and work with each other to build our communities up. Collect water, grow food, build shelter. Simple things.
Human Things.
Support each other, not just emotionally, but practically. Physically.
No matter how big your protest, the enemy can shut you down any time by simply turning off the power.
Suddenly you have no water or food.
The average American home has enough food and water stored to last maybe a week.
After that, you will concede to whatever their demands,
Or you will die.
Any revolution can be quelled with the flip of a switch as long as the rich control the food and water for the poor. As long as you need dollars to get lunch, there will be a leash round your neck, black, white, hispanic, cherokee, male, female, the difference is negligible;
Unless you’re willing to settle for being a better class of slave.
Are you?