Hey White People, Be Careful How You Protest!
“This is not a people problem; this is a system problem.”
These were words spoken by a teenage girl on Monday. She is one of the six 14–16 year old young ladies, honored by the Tennessee House of Representatives that same day.
That’s an informed quote from someone sixteen years old, and it’s a quote we all need to remember, especially those of us new to protesting for Black Lives Matter.
The six girls were recognized because they had organized a peaceful demonstration last month for 10,000 people. They did it right. They made their point. They bolstered awareness.
Later, others, taking advantage of the situation created chaos. But at the moment, that’s beside the point. Because that too is not about people, but an off shoot of a system.
If you’re like me and have had your fair share of discussions with people about this issue, you should know it’s very difficult to change a single person’s mind. So how about changing a system?
It’s exponentially more difficult to change the system.
We have four hundred years of social injustice now all falling, seemingly, and solely, on the shoulders of the police officers.
But if we think it’s individual police officers, and in some cases, people think it’s all police officers, we are greatly mistaken.
This is not an individual problem. This is a system problem.
Police officers right now are simply stuck in the middle. They are the focal point. The system is much deeper than police officers, or police departments, or city governments.
Right now, we have to know, there is no police officer who wakes up in the morning with an intent to do harm to a person of a different race.
The system is everything. It’s political, it’s social and it’s political. It exists in every part of our lives. It’s the interlocking mechanisms of how everything works.
The current system, especially and overwhelmingly when regarding race, is like a garden overtaken by some insane deep rooted Kudzu. Those roots are 400 years old. They must be dug out, properly disposed of and then constantly managed. But unlike Kudzu, you can’t always identify by the flower or the vine, or a single person.
Because it’s not a people problem, this is a system problem.
I’m a white guy and I know police officers locally and in other areas. It’s easy for me to call them my friends and never think of them as representative of the problems we have socially.
But obviously, I cannot and would not speak for any African American person, however I hope, and I pray that is true for them as well.
WKRN reported Tuesday morning, protestors, at the State Capitol shouted vulgarities at State Troopers throughout the evening.
Is that how we want to do this? Is that how we want our voices to be heard?
So let’s be careful how we protest. Let’s be careful what we insinuate. Let’s be careful what we say and how we say it.
We are not looking to incite violence, incite hostility, we are looking to peacefully, with God, or with love, or with an open heart, incite change.
The Obama Administration introduced in 2016 expansive training guidelines for policing in the 21st Century. Many departments embraced parts or all of it. Some probably did not.
Atlanta largely embraced it and has had as much success implementing it as any city.
And we saw what happened Friday night.
The system, keeps pulling people back in. And the results are the same.
I saw a lot of white faces on the court square a few weeks ago, and it made my heart feel good. It helped me believe the system is changing. And I still believe that.
But this change does not happen overnight. I strongly suspect our African American friends, family and neighbors know this. And so as a result, we must be careful, as we try to help them, not to become frustrated, not to become overbearing, and not to hurt a movement.
Be there. Be peaceful. Keep your heart open. Keep your spirit strong.
And above all, don’t make it about the individual. Make it about the system.