WHITE FOLKS COMMENTING FROM WHERE IT IS SAFE

I know and have worked with lots of dedicated white activists over the years. These white male / female / transgender / lesbian & LGBTQ, religious/ non religious activists are wonderful people seeking social justice in America. However there is a segment of white folks in America commenting on issues from where it is safe. Let me be clear. I recently saw on Facebook the video shooting of a black man in Tulsa, Oklahoma by white police officers. The shooting occurred last week but the video footage was just released. The man did not have a gun and was walking towards his car that broke down on the road. After viewing the video I made a few comments and then pondered what I had seen on the video. Well it did not take long for white folks from different parts of America to comment on my words. Of course one white person said "all we need in America for healing is to embrace Jesus." Next came the "there is not enough evidence to conclude what happened in the video." Oh really? What is interesting is how many of the white folks looking at the video commented on it from the safe haven of white privilege somewhere in whitopia. When white people make their remarks and then couch it in their worldview, I ask where is my parallel to that type of thinking?

For the most part the responses to my comments about the shooting of this black man by police were not received with enthusiasm or appreciation by white people. That is okay with me. What is troubling is how whites in various geographical locations in America can comment about healing, prayer, meditation, and working with the police when black folks are literally being hunted by people sworn to protect them ... dat be da police. It is bad enough to wait for the predictable response from black activists over this murder - marching, singing ol' man river spirituals,  black clergy calling for independent investigations that yield verdicts on the side of police, begging for God to come down from heaven and stop the killings. The response of white folks however is an exercise in how to comment from where it is safe; not having to worry whether their lives are valued or not based on their skin color. So let white folks continue to have conversations about the National Anthem and Colin Kapernick, or whether to get involved in social justice issues, or whether black activists tactics are too divisive for white tastes. In the mean time back at the ranch, black people are shot with hands in the air by police officers and "white folks are commenting from where it is safe."