I've been trying to think of words for this since yesterday....
I live in a pretty simple, comfortable style of life. No, we're not wealthy by a far stretch in the eyes of what the "world" considers wealthy; we live in a small cottage outside a little town, smack in the middle of America. God always sees we have enough, and enables us to help others as we can, which is a blessing. We live with some health concerns, but those help keep us focused on God, so really they're blessings, not burdens.
I can go anywhere, almost, in the US and feel pretty safe. I've been through big cities and small towns, high mountain villages and bustling metropolises. I am generally treated with kindness and respect most places we go to...and oddly, the few people who have been rude due to my disabilities have been upper class whites.
Charles is happy to walk into any neighborhood God sends him; be it a suburb or barrio, hip inner city scene or the poorest section of North County, St. Louis. I've seen Charles hug, laugh, joke, commiserate and rejoice with people from Goodfellow Blvd (not considered the safest area of our metroplex) to downtown parks filled with the homeless, to affluent suburbs, and he treats the people all the same. I was blessed to grow up in the wonderful town of Tulare, CA, where I had friends, teachers and mentors of all different cultures...and my parents instilled in me that every person, of every culture, is worthy of being treated the same....period. And to do otherwise is to sin in the eyes of God.
Now, I was also raised to be pro-cop, married a former cop (ie, that Charles guy, lol)...and have friends who are cops. I completely believe that almost all police officers really get into the field to try and help their communities, and they work hard to do the right thing. They're not paid what the risk is worth (a cop dies every 58 hours), and they deserve our respect. There are bad cops (just as there are bad people in every field) and they need to be weeded out and prosecuted, so that the public can have trust in those who serve and protect.
Ferguson, with all the problems thereof, is a murky case. Conflicting witnesses, and evidence that showed a struggle for the gun in the car. As I wasn't on the Grand Jury, I'm not passing any judgement, other than to say, with the evidence and the conflicting testimonies and what Missouri laws are, it was expected that there be a return of no indictment. The anger at systemic injustice (which the case in question was not necessarily about) is understandable, but the resulting violence is inexcusable.
But New York's case, with the video, troubles me. I don't think a man should have died over selling illegal cigarettes, and it calls for us, as a nation to deeply look into ourselves. I wasn't there, and I wasn't on the Grand Jury, so again I can't pass judgement, but it troubles me, and sorrows me. Six children are left without a father now, and a wife without her husband. I pray for all parties involved.
We have to do something in this country, through our laws and courts, to ensure that every case, for every person, receives equal scrutiny and equal application of the law. Right now, that just isn't the case in so many instances...and that's wrong. We can do better. We must do better.
We also need for the race baiters, in the liberal and conservative camps, and the media sensationalists, to all shut up and go home. That's not going to happen, but it should. Since it won't happen, we have to stop giving them any attention...that is what they feed off of. Attention and the hate it spawns. We also need our politicians to stop using this for their own glory and using it as a tool for division, and actually put the American people first, ahead of themselves. Alas, I don't see that happening soon either, on either the left or right.
As Christians, we have to try and see each person as Christ sees them, and show each person that love and dignity, respect and compassion. And the Bible is clear we are not to remain silent in the face of injustice or oppression. As we are happy to stand up for our Christian brethren in Iraq, so we must stand up for people in our own country to see that they are treated the same as so many of us are.
I'm not opening the comment section to arguing. If you want to argue, find someone else. I'll just delete the comments (because it's my feed, and I can.) What I'd rather people do is to pray that we, as individuals (of every culture) learn to see all people--white, black, hispanic, asian--as people, worthy of love and respect.
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