Tag Archives: Racial Tension

Violence Never Brings Peace – Only God’s Judgment

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Violence should never be an option in a civilized culture. Hate is never a healthy motivation to base one’s actions upon.

We expect it from ISIS and the more expansive worldwide movement of Islamic Jihad. It’s part of their ideology – their religion – to convert infidels (those who are not muslim) or to kill them.

Like Islam, Ideologies and regimes that begin through the use of violence, or who encourage or use violence to make a statement or to remain in power, are a blight on society. This includes belittling, race baiting, fake news with the intent on discrediting another individual or organization, and slanderous or hate speech.

Most intelligent individuals know that mass media is keeping violence in the news cycle to keep ratings up. They are as much a part of the problem as those causing or condoning the violent events happening at home and abroad.

No matter what your beliefs, creed, race, or nationality are, if you want peace and reconciliation, decide to be a part of the solution and not the problem. In the midst of it all, choose to be a part of the solution and not a promoter of the problem. How?

  1. Are you willing to resist the natural temptation of emotional reaction to lash out at those who persecute and revile you, and pray for them?
  2. Are you willing to pray for peace and reconciliation to come to the rising tensions between races and ethnicities here and abroad?
  3. Choose to speak humbly in the face of opposition and to seek peace through forgiveness.
  4. Determine that your voice seasoned with grace and mercy and your actions rooted in active forgiveness and a constant choice for reconciliation.

When God’s love (agape and phileo) are shown to others – to the world – instead of resentment, hatefulness, and animosity which all lead to violence both in your heart and beyond, you become a plantet shaker, a world changer, and an ambassador of God’s love to the world. Are you ready? You got this!

Tell us what you think. Rant a little. Comment alot!

What’s Really Happening in Ferguson

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Everyone who watches any news channel or is on the Internet and does not have their head buried in a hole in the sand, has heard of the ongoing violence in Ferguson, MO. If you have just pulled your head out of a hole, let me give you the reader’s digest version of this saga.

Long standing racial tensions between law enforcement and the black community over the years led to a robbery suspect being shot by a law enforcement officer in the street. All hell broke out as racial tensions rose, riots began, black militant organizers showed up to throw gas on the flames in the hope of making a name for themselves – again – and lots of people were hurt, lots of property got damaged, and more people were killed. Enter the justice system. A recent court ruling found the police officer on trial for the initial killing of the robbery suspect innocent and the black community went on a rampage – rioting, burning, and looting local businesses.

Officer Darren Wilson, the officer charged with the shooting in the line of duty, was found innocent by a jury of his peers and by a judicial system that our nation holds in high esteem. Granted that it was our judicial system that also voted for the killing of over 50 million unborn, being born, and just born babies, but then, this is a whole other topic. Since the shooting and now after the outcome of the trail, the officer and his family have received death threats.

My synopsis? Bad judgment call leads to the death of a young man who was shot by the arresting officer after he attempted to assault the police officer, which leads to a grand jury investigation and a legal determination of innocence for the officer of the shooting, the officer and his family receive death threats, there are riots and every form of evil in the streets afterwards, and all in the name of … remind me what this is all about again, because something is not adding up for me here. Maybe I am a little slow or maybe I am too idealistic to think that no matter what the color of our skin we can live in peace together and not have to play the race card … ever! God help us all that we should give into such a thing as hatred between people whose skin is a different color than ours. Shameful.

MY DISCLAIMER: OK, so, I don’t mean to cause anyone to think hatefully of me in writing this. And, let me say right up front that I think I have more people of color friends than I do white friends. This is mainly because the church campus I go to has a predominantly black congregation. My pastor is black and I love him like he was my own brother and would lay my life down for him. The man of God who leads me in worship every Sunday and who inspires me to worship God is black and he is just so cool that just knowing that he even knows my name is such an honor. Truly, some of the coolest people I know and the people I love most are black. The first person who saved my life was black. I almost married a Jamaican woman when I was in my early 20s. I am told that my forefathers were slave abolitionists in Tennessee. So, please, if you are thinking that I am being a racist in writing this, talk to those I love and who I am in community with who are black. They will tell you differently.

This said, just how many violent and destructive protests, riots, needless deaths, and massive media coverage has happened when something like an event where, “Black Man Shoots & Kills White Police Officer” didn’t even make the front page in the newspaper in the town that it happens in, and most certainly does not make mainstream media? Want to take a wild guess here?

Ferguson has generated a lot of news for one incident and I don’t think we will hear the end of it for a long time coming. Media makes money when they can get people reading or watching their news (advertiser based). If you want to see the coverage stop, don’t support advertisers who advertise on news agency publications or broadcast media. This will put big media on notice and if they are not making money, they will find a new story.

Anyway, beyond the financial benefits of keeping controversy going on a news story, is it just me or does something not add up here? I wonder about what big media is really up to and who is playing puppeteer over their choices for what to consider newsworthy and what is not to considered newsworthy. What is going on in Ferguson right now and how media is spinning it, is typical of the play book strategy for instigating class wars which that have proven successful in the shift of power in government for the last few hundred years or so as socialism and communism have made their play for world domination – and more specifically, over the last 6 years in America (see Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky).

Again, please know that I do understand that the issues in Ferguson are more complex than most racially charged events, with multiple municipalities involved in the unjust persecution of blacks over the years, but I DO wonder about these would-be headlines below and if the color of the skin were switched in the headlines, what would be happening around our country right now beyond Ferguson. What about these headline worthy news stories from just a few months over the same period of time as Ferguson?

7/18/2014: Jimmie Norman, white male murdered by black male. No national news.
7/18/2014: Terry Taylor, white male murdered by black male. No national news.
7/17/2014: Cindy Raygoza, white female murdered by black male. No national news.
7/11/2014: Luis Aguilar, 91 year old hispanic male murdered by black male. No national news.
7/10/2014: Brittany Simpson, white female murdered by black male. No national news.
7/6/2014: Sarah Goode, white female murdered by black male. No national news.
7/6/2014: Jeffrey Westerfield, white male murdered by black male. No national news.
7/5/2014: Perry Renn, white male murdered by black male. No national news.
7/3/2014: Laurey Kennedy, white female still in coma from beating by black male. No national news
7/3/2014: Eric Mollet, white male murdered by black male. No national news.
7/2/2014: Rupert Anderson, white male murdered by black male. No national news.
7/2/2014: Jennifer Kingeter, white female murdered by black male. No national news.
6/30/2014: Jim Brennan, white male, murdered by black male. No national news.
6/29/2014: Paul Shephard, white male, murdered by black male. No national news.
6/27/2014: Shirley Barone, white female, murdered by black male. No national news.
6/27/2014: Penelope Spencer, white female, murdered by black male. No national news.
6/27/2014: Inga Evans, white female, murdered by black male. No national news.
6/26/2014: Jake Rameau, white male, murdered by black male. No national news.
6/25/2014: Gina Burger, white female, murdered by black male. No national news.
6/24/2014: Nathan Dasher, white male, murdered by black male. No national news.
6/22/2014: Jonathan Price, white male, murdered by black male. No national news.
6/20/2014: John Whitmore, white male, murdered by black male. No national news.
6/18/2014: John Yingling,white male, murdered by black male. No national news.
6/17/2014: Allyn Reeves, white male, murdered by black male. No national news.
6/15/2014: Michael Beaver, white male, murdered by black male. No national news.
6/11/2014: Angela Cook, white female, murdered by black male. No national news.
6/11/2014: Nathan Hall, white male, murdered by black male. No national news.
6/7/2014: Harry Briggs, white male, murdered by black male. No national news.
6/5/2014: Laura Bachman, white female, murdered by black male. No national news.
6/2/2014: Robert Mohler, white male, murdered by black male. No national news.

Does anyone have a logical answer to this? It should be obvious to any intelligent individual, but then maybe I am being a racist to think that these single acts of violence deserved at least some coverage. Am I being too sensitive because of the color of my skin now? Please forgive me if it seems this way, but I don’t think that I am. I am just being American.