As I watch America battle the Coronavirus Pandemic and ravaging unemployment my anxiety is on 10. To make things worse. I’m now watching people burn businesses and communities to the ground not realizing the short term and long term effects of those actions.
Like everyone in the streets protesting the systematic racism that continues to flourish in this country. I’m just as upset and saddened by it. As a black man in America I’m just as on guard and worried about the safety of own family as every other black man in this country. I worry everyday about getting pulled over by the police or my children and wife getting stopped and assaulted by the very people that have been sworn in to protect and serve.
George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Eric Garner, Philando Castille, Treyvon Martin, Sandra Bland and others could have easily been me or mine.
However, running out into the streets looting and burning businesses to the ground isn’t the way to change the system. VOTING is!!! Burning up businesses in our own community that employ the very people that you say your standing up for is counterproductive.
I can remember in 1992 when folks anger exploded after the Rodney King verdict that allowed LA cops to walk free after beating the brakes off of King on video. Parts of that community still hasn’t recovered and guess who suffered as a result? The very people that lived in that community.
It may sound old school and mundane to you but VOTING is the only way to get REAL change in America. Like I expressed in the Hot Joint entitled “Strategy” on Friday. If you don’t like the leaders that are making decisions in this country you have a right to use your voice. Your VOTE is your voice.
You don’t like the fact that it’s taken too long for all of the police officers to be arrested and charged. Well…the prosecutor is an elected official. You VOTE the person in that thinks like you do. Vote for the person that actually cares about EVERYONE and wants to be fair. Then when something like this occurs there will be a swift arrest. If you stay home on election day and someone that cares nothing about you wins you can’t blame anyone but yourself. When it takes forever to get an arrest or not see one at all you can blame yourself for staying at home on election day. Become outraged that YOU allowed it to happen.
I’m not crazy enough to believe that racism will go away just because we all voted. However, I am crazy enough to believe that if enough moral folks vote we can keep the racist out of office. That’s if we’re saying that most folks in America aren’t truly racist.
If you don’t like the guy sitting in the White House uncontrollably tweeting reckless information and saying things that don’t line up with your morals. Then you’ve got to vote to ensure he doesn’t win the next election. That’s if you don’t like his approach. It’s called a democracy for a reason. Use your power within the democracy.
Listening to idiots tell you that it doesn’t make sense to vote puts us all in a bad situation when things go south. We’ve got no true leadership because people decided that it wasn’t important to use the real power that all of us have been granted.
Our vote is our voice. Sure protesting is great and should be done in a peaceful manner. However, the only way to tell folks how you really feel is to vote them out of office. REAL change will only come through voting. Look what happened in Fergerson when folks got mad enough to vote. They elected a new prosecutor.
As long as we run up and down the streets looting and burning down buildings that our people work in and make a living out of. We’re only hurting ourselves. Change is necessary but it has to happen in the voting booth.
Our ancestors died for the opportunity to vote and become a part of the political process in America and it’s a shame that in 2020 we don’t take the sacrifice that they made seriously. Not everyone is racist or ignorant but if you don’t vote and the ignorant and racist folks do. We end up with ignorant and racist folks making decisions for all of us. That doesn’t make sense. We’ve got the power, we’ve just got to use it properly. We…as in ALL responsible Americans .
Instead of tearing these cities up, go register to vote and make sure you’re in line on election day. I’ll be there like I’ve always been. I hope to see you walking out of the joint with the “I Voted” sticker on. Stop me when I start lyin’!
