Daily Archive for November 29th, 2007

Dear Fox News Sports Reporter (Black KKK)

Your article on the death of poor black child turned football player is only partially correct. While statistics do point to the fact that a black man pulled the trigger and statistics do show that violence between blacks is high you seem to have overlooked a strong point concerning this “black on black violence” or as you said the “Black KKK.” I find the term “black on black” violence to be rather strange. I find it odd that the study of black on black violence even exists and that people try to prove their own little points with those statistics. Let me ask you this? How many times in the US news do you hear the phrase “white on white violence” “Hispanic on Hispanic violence” “Arab on Arab violence”? You don’t, those phrases don’t exist. You might be saying, it’s because they don’t kill each other at the rate we do. My point is this, when you use phrases like “black on black” you single us out as a group saying that our biggest enemy is us, that stats say we can’t turn our backs on one another, that our biggest concern in life isn’t morally based but colour based. Our own people are the ones we should worry about. Such phrases as “black on black violence” are set up as morale killers and are also part of the whole propaganda scheme our people continue to stay in an uproar about.

You, sir, are as guilty as others when it comes to propaganda but yours is quite subtle. It appears to be for racial unity and advancement but when you toss in your stats and your quotes like “Does Soulja Boy want an education?” and “Black KKK” you find yourself guilty of pressing forward the idea that we as a racial group have ourselves to fear and have ourselves to blame for falling behind as an ethic group.

My other concern with your article is this, you said that students back in the 60’s risked their lives to go to school but we can’t get our kids to go now. Shame on you for saying such a thing. What has been handed to them on a silver platter has not been handed to them without conflicting ideas of trust and equality. Changes in the books doesn’t mean trusting that any real changes will come in their life or that they’ll have an equal chance on a leveled playing field. Might I remind you that we as a people have only recently begun to have open freedoms that we don’t lose our life for? For instance, as an ethnic group we were not legally able to vote until 1965. For 42 years we have LEGALLY been able to vote, voting SAFELY didn’t come for years upon years later. My point is that things change on the books but public life and private life changes take much longer. A person can legally be given an opportunity but privately see that opportunity as a threat or a waste of time because its real benefit might be undermined by others. I can vote legally but can I vote safely and equally and have it count, be worth something? Private influences and change on a private level prevents people from accepting silver platter opportunities. This phenomenon of change and acceptance without influence crosses all ethnic boundaries.

Sincerely,

Austin of Sundrip Journals

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Dear Fox News Reporter (Glorified Violence)

Another point you’ve missed concerning the plight of football player Sean Taylor is that he was moved from one form of violence to another and expected to control and contain it. You can not move a lion from The Bronx Zoo to a The Posh Zoo and tell him not to be wild. A zoo is a zoo is a zoo. The rules and animals are the same, it’s wild. (Keep in mind the above is an example of wild behaviors – the rough and tough Bronx compared to what is considered luxury and exclusive or The Posh Zoo.)

What you asked Sean Taylor to do was go from running the streets wild with weapons and plenty of “bitches” to running with a different form of gang and their form of violence. His old form of violence could have lead him straight to prison. This new form put him in the lime light, gave him cash flow and respect. It gave him freedom but it didn’t give him an opportunity to make a real difference in the quality of his life because the one factor not removed from the scenery is violence.

How can today’s football players early on exposed to gang activity not see the similarities between football and gang activity? If they go from wearing the same colours on the street to wearing the same colours as a team that goes out and mows down the next man for possession of pig skin, money and glory how are they to ever make any real separation from the old and new life? The main connection between their old life and their new life is violence. The glory is much the same. They make the news almost equally. The similarities are striking.

My experience with violence is that it is never really controlled. But you’ve asked these young football players early exposed to street violence (the kind that doesn’t include pig skin) to see and understand the differences in mowing down the man that doesn’t belong to their gang/ football team. You yourself have commented on how some players have to take themselves to a very violent place in their mind to play the game, to block so those with good executing skills can make a play. But tell me how a person who is routinely taken to such levels of violence can contain and control it, turn it on and off like a light switch and contain that light always in socially acceptable ways?

Mr. Whitlock, you cannot confuse a man routinely, so thoroughly and expect him to make the right decision every time.

Sincerely,
Austin of Sundrip Journals

Thursday, November 29, 2007-11:47AM EST   ,, ,.