A
lot of folks may wonder how a “black perspective” may differ from the “white”
one.
[Note: I say “a” black
perspective because there are of course many black perspectives. I say “the”
white perspective to refer specifically to what often appears the dominant
perspective of the larger society, which does not mean of course, that all
white people share that dominant perspective. One might say with some accuracy
— and perhaps a trace of irony — that this Note to Readers is a widely held
black perspective.]
1.
A black man kills, he’s a menace to society… a foreign man kills, he’s a
terrorist … a white man kills, he’s psychologically unstable. SMH [shaking my
head]
2.
Gun control?
Black
People kill Black People every day, but there is no public outcry for gun
control…
It
is only when white people get in on the act that it is now a matter of Public
Urgency… Hmmm.
These
observations were posted on Facebook by a couple of very large mild-mannered
black men who grew up in different parts of this country [Ohio, Texas].
They are both middle age or better, professionals with graduate degrees.
I
have always thought that gun control was a no-brainer. We in America kill
people in all kinds of situations, abetted by the fact that we pretty much have
more guns than people. Our free society is more “jeopardized” by marginal
people heavily armed with assault weapons than it is “protected” by armed
law-abiding citizens. The US Supreme Court, as it has done in too many
instances, has followed prevailing political will rather than a fair reading of
the Constitution in such matters. Thus, after many years of a contrary
interpretation, it now holds that the Second Amendment should be interpreted to
read that individual citizens pretty much have a “right to bear arms” that
extends to weapons of mass destruction.
 |
| Rev. Dr. Marvin A. McMickle |
In
his “Weekend Reflections on Events in Newtown, Connecticut”, our good friend
the Rev. Dr. Marvin A. McMickle[1]
considered the recurring tragedies encompassed by these places where public officials
and innocent bystanders were shot and killed: Oklahoma City, Columbine, Aurora,
Ft. Hood, Virginia Tech, a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin and a mall in Tucson.
As he observed, save in the case of Oklahoma City:
“In every case the weapons of choice were high-powered,
automatic and semi-automatic weapons more suited for a battlefield than as part
of the culture of a 21st century industrialized society. Without easy access to
such guns it is possible to imagine that none of these horrific events would ever
have occurred. Crazed and/or cowardly people do not become mass killers without
access to such weapons.”
 |
| Canada Lee as Bigger Thomas in Orson Welles' 1941 Broadway production |
Could
it be that those who proclaim that arming our teachers and legislators[2] is
essential to preserving our safety are actually more concerned with protecting
themselves from the Bigger Thomases of the world than the Adam Lanzas?
 |
| Adam Lanza |
[1] President
and Professor of Church Leadership, Colgate
Rochester Crozer Divinity School,
Rochester, NY. Former pastor of Antioch
Baptist Church, Cleveland OH [1987-2011]. Past president, Cleveland NAACP.
[2] Ohio Gov. John Kasich is about to
sign House Bill 495, allowing for the first time guns to be legally brought
into the parking garages under the Ohio Statehouse and the nearby state tower
containing his and legislators' offices. … In one of their last acts before
ending the current two-year session before the holidays, the Ohio Senate voted
26-7 to approve House Bill 495. The House then voted 66-23 to accept the
changes made by the upper chamber and forward the bill on to Mr. Kasich. Source
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