John Pavlovitz is one of only two ‘men of the cloth’ that I follow, the other being Padre Steve. Both are actively engaged in the search for justice for ALL, and I respect them immensely. Today, our friend Keith shared John Pavlovitz’ words and thoughts on racism and anti-racism, what we must do to bring an end to the horrible crimes against blacks (and Hispanics, Muslims, Asians, etc) that are ever on the rise in this country. Please take a few moments to read … and think about these words. We can no longer remain silent, unless we wish to return to the days of segregated water fountains and lynchings. Thank you, Keith, for sharing Mr. Pavlovitz’ fine words.
The following was written by Pastor John Pavlovitz at john.pavlovitz.com in Wake Forest. I have shared his writings before and his words resonate with more than just me.
“Ahmaud Arbery is dead because he was a black man.
He was hunted down by two white strangers in broad daylight because he was two things: he was black and running, which was enough reason for them to grab weapons and get in their truck and chase him down and assassinate him in the road.
Being black and running was Ahmaud’s crime.
To some white people, you can’t be black and running,
you can’t be black and standing outside a convenience store.
you can’t be black and sitting in your car eating lunch,
you can’t be black and playing in a park,
you can’t be black and watching TV in your apartment.
To some white people, you can’t be black.
For far…
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Good share Jill.
What many White folk who would rather not know about this do not realise, is that if all non-white people were removed the USA the racists would then start looking about the White population for ‘traitors’, so no one is safe.
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So … people just have to have someone to hate? Sigh. Is there hope at all for the human species?
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We got a choice, we evolve, the hate, greed and bigotry die or…orr Pffffft! Very slender bit of the fossil record. We an’t be around long enough to qualify for a sizeable chunk.
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Well, we’re damn sure not evolving. We keep making fancier toys and gadgets to occupy our small minds, tools and more gadgets so we can sit on our fat arses more and work less, but mentally we have regressed. So, let’s put an end to humanity and let the rest of the creatures on earth live in peace. Bah!
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Not yet. Too many innocents would suffer. If there was a virus which would attack bigotry that would be a start.
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Sigh. You are kinder than I. Suddenly I see the whole ‘human’ thing as a failed experiment overall. The bigots are apparently always going to be with us, people are always going to be killers, and … why the heck bother trying to fix them when after thousands of years, they haven’t learned a damn thing?
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We’re in VE aftermath so check out these links Jill:
Reigeme built on bigotry, hatred and slaughter: Result May 1945:
(warning not nice-bodies)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_suicides_in_1945_Nazi_Germany#/media/File:Leipzigsuicide.jpg.
Nation built on a flawed but working democracy May 1945:
https://www.alamy.com/ve-day-celebrations-london-8-may-1945-image341502786.html?pv=1&stamp=2&imageid=95BC7A16-B30C-4BDD-B4EC-A4F16730E14D&p=865682&n=0&orientation=0&pn=1&searchtype=0&IsFromSearch=1&srch=foo%3dbar%26st%3d0%26pn%3d1%26ps%3d100%26sortby%3d2%26resultview%3dsortbyPopular%26npgs%3d0%26qt%3dve%2520day%25201945%2520britain%26qt_raw%3dve%2520day%25201945%2520britain%26lic%3d3%26mr%3d0%26pr%3d0%26ot%3d0%26creative%3d%26ag%3d0%26hc%3d0%26pc%3d%26blackwhite%3d%26cutout%3d%26tbar%3d1%26et%3d0x000000000000000000000%26vp%3d0%26loc%3d0%26imgt%3d0%26dtfr%3d%26dtto%3d%26size%3d0xFF%26archive%3d1%26groupid%3d%26pseudoid%3d%26a%3d%26cdid%3d%26cdsrt%3d%26name%3d%26qn%3d%26apalib%3d%26apalic%3d%26lightbox%3d%26gname%3d%26gtype%3d%26xstx%3d0%26simid%3d%26saveQry%3d%26editorial%3d1%26nu%3d%26t%3d%26edoptin%3d%26customgeoip%3d%26cap%3d1%26cbstore%3d1%26vd%3d0%26lb%3d%26fi%3d2%26edrf%3d%26ispremium%3d1%26flip%3d0%26pl%3d.
Screw you Blood and Soil!
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My father was the only one of my family who remained in Guyana. He died alone in his home in 2001. I was living in Brazil at the time and couldn’t get a flight to Guyana until three months after his burial. The majority of my relatives, paternal and maternal, all live in the Diaspora.
I am blessed to have several white American friends here in Los Angeles who are very supportive and have welcomed me into their lives. Through the WordPress blogosphere, I have also come to interact with amazing people across Blue, Red, and Purple America who share my dream of a more inclusive body politic.
On this Mother’s Day, I send my gratitude to all the mothers of our nation who are on the frontlines of our struggle.
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Jill, thanks for reposting. I like Pavlovitz’s perspective and candor. This topic needs leadership at all levels of government, religion and business. We cannot condone racism, but we must recognize bigotry is carefully taught, so it will take persistent good examples and pushback to make a difference. Keith
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Pavlovitz is always spot on, and you’re so right … leadership needs to condemn racism … all bigotry … in the strongest terms possible. Not gonna happen under Trump & Co, though.
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It’s just awful. The problems run deep. It’s not just a handful of rouge people. It is entrenched in many communities and is sadly too often institutionalised as well.
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No, it’s not just a handful … I used to think it was, and it was easy enough to discount the occasional incident, but now? The snakes have slithered out from ‘neath their rocks and they are intent on setting this nation back 100 years. Sigh. I want to move to your side of the pond! xx
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You can’t be black and read this without feeling pain and righteous anger.
These murderers would no doubt claim to be Christian but there’s no sign of Christian kindness in their actions.
If something doesn’t change soon there will be an uprising and I won’t be standing beside the whites.
Cwtch
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I’m not black, but I cannot read it without feeling pain and shedding tears. Given that they are in Georgia, yeah, it’s a logical assumption that they would claim to be “Christian”, but while they may ‘talk the talk’, they damn sure can’t ‘walk the walk’. I think we are headed for a race war if this isn’t dealt with quickly and properly, meaning the white father and son head to prison.
Cwtch
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Thanks for sharing John Pavlovitz’s post. I’m a descendant of African slaves and indentured laborers born in what was then British Guiana. My skin color or race defined my place in a world that was, at the time, dominated by white men. To this day, after 54 years as an independent nation, Guyana’s divisive racist politics continue to stifle economic progress and social cohesiveness. The country’s recent oil bonanza has only proven to be a curse to its people, now trapped in political limbo. Over these sixteen years of living here in my adopted homeland, I’ve come to see that white Americans have also not yet been able to come to terms with the legacy of slavery. There is no easy solution to the systemic institutionalized racism that still exists in our country. I don’t have the answers. I only feel the pain.
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Thank you for sharing that bit of your own history, Rosaliene! Do you still have family in Guyana, or did your entire family move here? You are so right … I knew that racism hadn’t completely died here, but after the Civil Rights era of the 1960s, after Martin Luther King, I really thought it was relatively minor. After President Obama was elected, however, I began to see it creeping back into society, and once Trump was elected, it was like somebody overturned all the rocks and let the creeps come slithering out. Sigh. Never have I been more ashamed of this country than I am today. No, there are no easy solutions, but certainly it should not be promoted and encouraged by the head of our government! Sigh.
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