Wisdom lost through the ages, common sense is no longer common.
Written by Gary Wonning
We hear a lot today about white privilege, I grew up poor and worked for everything I have, I’m not sure what white privilege is.
There have been times I felt I was discriminated against and shunned because of some “flaw” in my being, there are other times I was favored because of some characteristic I have. Over time, the “good” and the “bad” have pretty much evened out.
Few would argue that certain minorities have been discriminated against in the past, not just in the United Sates but around the world. Realistically, I believe each and every one of us has been discriminated against at some point in our life, regardless of race, gender , religious affiliation, nationality, etc.
Undoubtedly, the Jewish population has been discriminated against throughout history more than any other group of people, and you hear them complain the least. In fact, I have never heard one of them complain. As a group, they don’t dwell in the past, they just take it for what it is, pick themselves up by their boot straps and try to create a better life for themselves and others.
Whatever life gives us, we need to overcome it and make a better life for ourselves and those around us. That is what our life is all about, there isn’t anyone who leads or were born into a perfect life.
Without a doubt, there are some bad cops, just like there are bad people in any occupation, however, probably 99.9% of the law enforcement officers are good people who are only trying to do the right thing and keep our communities safe.
This narrative of the police always being wrong became popular around 2010, the Trayvon Martin incident and the incident in Ferguson Missouri, the actions taken by some of our elected officials who publicly condemned law enforcement and others for the actions of law beakers created an environment and a narrative from the media that cast a negative light on all first responders, it was all done for political gain and TV ratings.
There is also an element of our society that wants to break down the moral fiber of our country by destroying all our time honored values and traditions.
Some would say it even began earlier with the Rodney King incident in California, a video was shown of the incident that showed police violence, the only problem was the video didn’t show the whole story of what happened before the cameras rolled. Most often, the law breakers have arrest records as long as their arm, that is seldom brought up.
Your police record follows you around, the local police know you and deal with you daily. In most instances, the police will only deal with you if you cause a problem, they have enough issues without going out and looking for more. The old adage, “If you have the name , you get the Blame” plays well here. Keep your nose clean and in most cases you will not be harassed. If you cause them problems, they without a doubt will be watching you, it only makes sense.
All of this has created an environment where minorities are favored and assumed innocent without people even giving it a second thought.
You see it every day, in a case such as the Covington school kids being attacked by the Native American, the press’s automatic knee jerk action was to blame the kids, because of a partial video of the incident. When a video surfaced that showed the entire incident it became apparent who was to blame, and when the facts started coming out it was discovered the Native American had never been to Vietnam as he claimed, he was a refrigerator repairman, not that there is anything wrong with being a refrigerator repairman. He was AWOL three times while in the military. He made false claims about the incident, and had committed these very same actions before.
If the second video hadn’t surfaced, these kids lives could have been ruined forever by this fake news promoted by the media, as the Duke La Cross players lives were affected several years ago.
In South Africa, where apartheid was such an issue for so many years, the pendulum has swing and is gotten to the point where whites are being persecuted because of their skin color, many are being raped and killed, many have had their land taken from them. I personally know of three families who have left and migrated to the United States because of the violence and threats.
This issue needs to be addressed, two wrongs don’t make a right.
Just as white privilege is wrong, if it exists, so is minority privilege, I thought we were supposed to be judged by the content of our character, not the color of our skin.
We are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty and not tried in the court of public opinion.
Gary has been a writer/photographer for over thirty years. Specializing in nature and landscape photography, while studying native cultures.
His travels have taken him to most of the United States, as well as Australia, Belize, Egypt and the Canary Islands.
He has studied the Mayan culture of Central America and the aborigines of
Australia. Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in various parts of the world.
He has observed that many of the forgotten cultures had spiritual beliefs that were stronger than ours in modern times.
In technology, we have made advances far superior to those that came before us, but, we have lagged behind in gaining or maintaining our spiritual knowledge.
For us to advance as the human race, we need to combine the spiritual knowledge of those that came before us, not only that of the ancients but the knowledge of our direct ancestors as well, with the technical knowledge we have today for us to propel into the twenty-first century and beyond.
He has published several books about his adventures.
For more information, please consult his website,www.journeysthrulife.com.
Thinking Between the Lines 