Am I the only white person in America getting sick of being called a racist? I don’t think so. But just to be sure, I broke out my personal copy of the Coryell genealogy and gave it a quick read-through. As it turns out, the first of the Coryell clan (that’s “Clan” not “Klan”) to settle in America sailed from England near the start of the 18th century. The first Coryell’s settled in New Jersey and from there gradually moved inland to Michigan where I live now. As it turns out, my ancestors were more likely to fight to free the slaves than they were to own them. So I guess my ancestors were not racists.
That brings us to present day. So I gave myself a “racism” test.
Question – Have you ever owned a black person?
Answer – No
Question – Have you ever used the “N” word?
Answer – No
Question – Do you believe the white race to be superior to the black race?
Answer – No
Question – Do you have any black friends?
Answer – Yes
“Holy Hannah, Batman! I passed the test! I’m not a racist!”
Or am I? Maybe I’m really a racist deep down inside and I just don’t know it yet? Perhaps it’s like a virus living inside me, latent, waiting to be triggered by the racist gene that’s been passed secretly down through the Coryell family for hundreds of years.
Perhaps I should take another test? This time I’ll take the Jesse Jackson, white cracker quiz. It’s short and to the point.
Question – Are you white?
Answer – Yes.
Final Grade – You’re a racist.
Wow! That was so much easier than before!
Most of you know I teach concealed-carry classes, pistol safety, tactics, all that good, fun stuff. Why just this past weekend I was on the range teaching an advanced concealed-carry class to a bunch of creepy-ass, white crackers (I can’t believe they let us racists have guns.) when I heard myself say the following: “I highly recommend that you incorporate profiling into your family and personal defense strategy. Always watch the people who statistically commit most of the crime.”
Of course, being good students, they wanted to know the stats, asking me “Who commits most of the crime?” I hesitated, wondering to myself, Do I really want to open myself up to criticism? But then I gave it to them straight. “Over fifty percent of the murders in America are committed by young, African-American males.”
You could have heard a pin drop. (And we were on a gun range with shots being fired all around us.) Most white people feel uncomfortable talking about race in any setting or context.
Let’s get this straight. I am not a racist – but I do possess pre-disposed opinions.
I look at the facts. I study them. I form opinions and then I pre-judge people, sometimes whole groups of people based on my research and study. That doesn’t make me a racist. That makes me a student.
An analysis of the FBI National Crime Victimization Survey concludes that young, black males are seven times more likely to commit murder than people of other races.
Why is that happening? Are these people committing crimes simply “because” they have black skin? Of course not. That’s absurd. God made us all equal.
So why do young, African-American males commit a disproportionate number of the crimes? I really don’t know for sure, but according to Pat Buchanan in his World Net Daily commentary titled “Dead Souls of a Cultural Revolution”:
– 73 percent of black children are born to single moms.
– Black teens who make it to 12th grade may often be found reading at seventh-, eighth- or ninth-grade levels.
– In some cities the black dropout rate can hit as high as 50 percent.
– To further complicate the challenge of black communities, drugs are readily available.
– And among African-American males ages 18 to 29, in urban areas, often a third are in prison or jail, or on probation or parole, or possess a criminal record.
Whatever the cause of this problem, from my perspective as a personal defense trainer, I don’t factor in the “why”, because that doesn’t help keep my students alive. I focus on the “who”. (Not the rock band.)
If I don’t teach my students “who” is most likely to attack them, I’m doing them a great disservice. I would be derelict in my duty. Do I watch African-Americans in particular? No. My version of profiling makes more sense. I ask myself the following questions, and, if they fit the profile, then I watch them like a hawk, regardless of their race.
1. Are they young?
2. Are they traveling in groups?
3. Are they taking an unusual interest in me?
4. Are they dressed like gangbangers?
5. Are they nervous and acting suspiciously?
So you can call me a racist if you want. I don’t’ really care anymore. I’m sick of baseless accusations and they offend me. I know what goes on in the quiet confines of my own heart and so does God. And, with God as my judge, if anyone tries to hurt me or my family, I will use all legal force at my disposal. I don’t care what color they are. I’d rather be called a live racist than a dead victim.
So, I encourage all my students to begin profiling, to pray for the black community, and to remain vigilant.
Image: Anti-racist rally in Sydney 2005 Dec 18; author: M.e; Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license
No comments:
Post a Comment