By Richard Ray
April 4th marks the 50th Anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr. The purveyor of non-violence was gunned down on the balcony of a Memphis Hotel in 1968, assassinated by a White Nationalist/Supremacist determined to disrupt the Civil Rights Leader’s quest for a more just and empathetic America.
The morbidity of the day and its anniversary is not what is celebrated. The focus is on the life and King’s quest for more equality. While the plight, oppression and inequality experienced by Blacks in the South was the primary and initial message of his calling, the message grew. Civil Rights and racial equality for People of Color was always and continues to be an issue that needs to be rectified in America but before his life ended Dr. King’s message extended to a much bigger platform of perceived injustices.
I started Diary Of A Mad Mind for many reasons, but undeniably at the forefront was bringing attention to the systemic racism in America and the world and the many different ways it is perpetuated by individuals, institutions and governments to try and maintain a status quo of White Rule and inequality for People Of Color (POC). While I will never take my foot off the proverbial neck of White Supremacy/Nationalism and it insidious agenda, I have come to realize the fight for equality is so much bigger than race and color.
Systemic injustices plague the fabric of what is supposed to be the world’s freest, most democratic and opportunistic society. Women, people with disabilities, immigrants, homosexuals and transgender people are just part of the classes of people along with minorities that fight injustice on a regular and systemic basis. This is either by people that want to maintain a status quo that is advantageous to their perceived interests as well as people that lack empathy to the plight of those that are disadvantaged by the lack of fairness afforded to their being different than those in power and lacking a representative voice.
There are objective standards of right and wrong. However, for far too long America and many other places in the world have been governed by groups that have held power and explicitly held back or limited the opportunities to any other groups that might be perceived as threatening their continued reign or economic dominance. In America that group in power has been Caucasian males.
This is not an indictment of White males. However for those in that position of power who abuse it I have no filter for your cowardice and wrong. Keep in mind the abuse of power is not limited to those with active agendas of discrimination and hate, but also extends to those with the platform or positions in power who tacitly accept or ignore the wrong that is so obvious and known. Accepting racism by your party or group, ignoring the rights of others, and discrimination, not speaking out against your own is as much an indictment of your guilt in contributing to injustices and allowing their continuation to become a systemic issue.
Dr. King preached a radical approach of non-violent protest as a means of demonstrating against the injustices of the time. The methodology was criticized by many for not being radical enough in countering attacks that were usually hostile and physical in nature. I am not a pacifist or religious man. However, I can accept that non-violent protest if done by the masses can be an effective tool in effectuating change. The change will only come with extreme vigilance in trying to teach empathy to large groups of people that clearly lack it.
Empathy is a relatively simple and non-offensive concept. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feeling of others. How hard is that to do? Evidently it is very hard to do and implement for many. Clearly, many have not been taught to be empathetic to the plight and differences of others while others more simply just refuse. We are all as different as much as we all share a basic commonality as people. Most of us just want to be treated fairly, and given the same opportunities as everyone else. We don’t want special treatment, but sometimes the disadvantages that were contributed by systemic injustices need special attention to be helped and overcome. Sometimes you have to fix and level the playing field before the game can be considered fair to everyone.
Dr. King was a shining example of empathy and perseverance. He was an example of vigilance and persistence. Most of us are not willing to make the sacrifices, including our lives, that Dr. King made to fight. We do not need to be that brave nor selfless, but we must do something. Systemic injustices will never cure or fix themselves. Their change is only brought about by activism. If you are one of the lucky ones and largely unaffected, keep in mind that ignoring the problems when you have a platform, voice or vote to help others is as contributorily guilty as those that actively try and oppress and discriminate against others.
Systemic Injustices of any persons must be stopped. America can not accurately hold it self as the greatest and freest nation when it still actively and systemically holds back and discriminates against any of its people. Not everyone in America has a voice. Some are just underrepresented. It is the responsibility of the rest of us, to live empathetic lives. Understand and acknowledge the disadvantages that many have been actively placed in and right those wrongs. You want to Make America Great Again, fight for all of its people, not just for the interests of those already in power trying to maintain their status quo.
#racism, #equality, #injustice, #socialjustice, ##systemicracism, #systemicinjustice, #DrKing, #MartinLutherKing, #empathy #women, #minorities
