I wanted to write a response to the shooting. More of a response to the responses I was hearing. Most of which were predictable statements, theories and conclusions out of the mouths of self-righteous and insensitive politicians, news stations and even a cartoonist. Floods of Facebook statuses, Twitter feeds and blog posts that I read, largely from the Black community, also carried a similar tone in their reactions.
Thoughts are powerful and, for the most part, private. When we feel the need to share our thoughts, they are given a voice through words. In sharing, these words are then given value or forgotten. Now, it is in action that thoughts receive their strongest avenue. To do something about what you think takes a great deal of determination and sometimes risk.
I decided to write about what I have experienced; a livelihood that is not given much platform in our community because of the overwhelming negative thoughts, words and actions against Blackness. There is a definite imbalance of stories and binary scale of focus that either highlights failure or success, or in this case violence over peace. And in no way am I ignoring that there are issues of violence in the community, but in the same token I will not fuel the problem by focusing on the negative. A key point. We each have a responsibility to take action and I strongly oppose banishment as a solution. I find it interesting how vocal Mayor Rob Ford is about gun violence but very discreet about his own domestic disputes.
