HELP!

God Help Us All!

The name of Trayvon Martin will probably go down in history along-side that of Emmett Till.  In this early part of the 21st century, that's a chilling thought!  Emmett was a year or less younger that I was on that day in th 1950's.  My father reinforced his message to me and to my brothers as to how to behave around white people; warning us of bodily harm or death in that part of Pettis County.  It was a daily burden to stay alert.  I had years before been called the N-word by the local sheriff for walking on the white side of the tracks on my way to work (for $0.26 per hour).  Those were the days when Peonage was still in effect in that part of Missouri.  We knew that "The Law" was not there to protect us, but as a threat to us.

I strongly recommend that you see the movie "The Help", if you haven't already.  Although Hollywood treated Peonage with it's typical saccharine, you can plainly see how every white person benefitted from the system.  We now live with the economic and psychological effects, on both sides of the color line, as well as lasting economic benefits on the white side.  The 2008 collapse of our economy and its accompanying massive unemployment provides cover to circumvent laws against hiring discrimination by skin color and age, as well as selective layoffs.

There is an old saying that God helps those who help themselves.  All U.S. citizens, of all colors, can take steps to put an end to the use of law to commit theft, rape, and murder.  We can look with renewed scrutiny at every person in law enforcement, the writing of laws, and the judiciary.  There are legal means of impeaching, or firing bad actors.

There has been tremendous change since the 1950's in the ability of blacks and other minorities to take charge of their own voice and image.  The Media, although strongly imbalanced by the megaphones of the Right, does provide visibility and awareness of the realities-of-life for minorities in the United States.  Citizens of all colors will benefit by insuring that equal access and equal opportunity are real and not just bumper stickers for the gullible.  Nobody gains in the long run from the continuation of these practices that have been in effect since this country was founded.

Finally, although the 1960's decisions by blacks to take to the streets in demonstrations, worked at that time, it's questionable whether minorities can continue to ignore the economic impact of current government and social policies.  Voting, boycotting the products and services of offenders, paying attention to who the bad actors and actions are, are just some of the steps we can all take.  Public naming and shaming are effective against the ability of prominent talking heads and politicians to blatantly lie to us in their pursuit of power.

It's long past time to help ourselves!

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