Black Lives Matter, and not just to black people!

I recently saw an explanation of "Black Lives Matter" which I can absolutely agree with.

It isn't that All lives don't matter its like when a house in your neighborhood is on fire. You call the Fire department about the burning house. all the houses matter and in some cases the fire department will put water on neighboring houses to help keep them from getting involved in the fire, but the house thats on fire is the one that matters. 

Black Lives Matter is like that burning house. Over that last 15 to 20 years the level of racism as both gotten better and much worse. 

Another explanation is that its like playing monopoly but your turn is only after everyone else goes around the board 400 times.

Racism has become insidious. Working secretly within many groups of people to make matters worse across the board. 

I grew up in a small 99.9% white village in east central Indiana. I knew a few people who were not white. When I was very small we had college students of all races come and stay at our home and visit. We had Church for the hispanic Migrant workers (Mostly Mexicans I assume but possibly from other hispanic nations) who lived on the farm where we rented the house.  I played with their children from dawn to dusk. 

I remember when I was young swimming at a public pool with friends and them telling me that the black on black children would rub off...  even at that age (7? maybe) I knew that was ridiculous.  

As I grew older I worked with black men and women and have had many friendships. I am honestly one of those who never really thinks about color. When my children were young we would often take them to the park and they would play with any and all of the children there.  

We didn't make a big deal out of it, but we seldom if ever made reference to skin color or race when talking about children or their parents. 

It wasn't a conscious thing it just didn't matter. However, I have come to believe that instead of ignoring differences perhaps we should celebrate them. Not as a way of separating but as a way of understanding.  

If we could really understand and love our neighbors then there would be less and less room for people who are in any position let alone positions of power or authority to take advantage or to kill people who are different.

If we were to come to the realization that we are ALL different. Celebrate the differences, learn from each other. not to integrate or dilute the differences but to appreciate and learn from the differences.

It breaks my heart to know that there are policemen who are so afraid for their own lives that they are willing to take the life of another simply because that person is black, simply because that person is different.

How do we do this? I don't know.. I always thought that loving my neighbor and willingly opening myself to them was the way, but I don't know that that is enough. 

I see that protesting can be viable. I don't think it's always the answer, but it can be viable. Let me be clear violence, rioting , looting, etc etc is NEVER the answer. 

I also don't believe that disbanding the local police is the answer, I think that is a terrible idea, because even though communities will say "we are implementing community safety initiatives..." all that means is there will be people who are far worse than the police have ever been because they will be vigilante and no one will be able to stop them, because there will be no policemen.  At that point the STate will have to step in, unless the state has also disbanded their police in favor of the national guard... then we go directly from an unpoliced state to a militarily policed state which is one step from martial law...

OK, Ok I realize I'm an idiot and don't know what I'm talking about.. I'm sure there are lots of things like state constitutions and county charters etc etc that would prevent that from happening.... ok. sure.

My point is eliminating the police will not eliminate the problem.

The problem is a problem that lives in the hearts of men (and women) it is a curse that makes us think that we are better than our brothers. ITs a curse that makes us think that "the golden rule" is bad because we can't treat others the way we want to be treated.. what if someone likes to be treated badly?  (actually had someone ask me that once). Sadly we can't make people see anything... the old saying, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink, is true in the case of racism. we can show people the truth, but we can not make them believe. that has to take person experience and a perspective change. I'm reminded of the Clint Eastwood movie, "Gran Torino". The main character was an old Viet Nam era veteran who was opinionated, racist and right.  He was inappropriate in his language with his friends and his enemies. but something changed when a Vietnamese family moved in next door... their daughter (I don't remember the whole story line as its been a while I should watch it again) reached out to him and somehow connected... he never stopped being inappropriate and they just ignored that... but he changed his attitude and his actions.  Perhaps that is the biggest lesson, we get too upset about inappropriate words when changing the heart is more important.  I mean how much more can you change that to go from hating a whole group of people because of the past to literally putting your life on the line so that they could be saved and protected from more oppressive and violent criminals.

Protesting can raise awareness. It should make all of us go.. wait.. what do I feel about that? I'll be honest every American should feel a red hot anger that anyone could calmly and casually "restrain" someone to the point of death  without even showing concern.  We should all be angry, the individual officers involved should have known better should have acted differently and should have been willing to stand up for whats right. But they didn't and we should be angry about that. We should be angry at the institutions that allow this to happen. Angry at the media for hyping things to a point that it takes a death to accomplish what would have been accomplished with words in the past. No thats not right it could never be accomplished with words alone. but the Media is focused not on the needs the areas that need to change but on whatever gets the most views, the most likes the most comments. WE should be angry at the fake news sits that make up stuff in order to further enrage people. We should be angry at the "outsiders" who are coming to cities and joining the protests only to stir up anger int eh people in order to start riots. We should be angry at the government that hasn't stopped this for decades or centuries. Last of all we should be angry at ourselves for not standing up and demanding that this be changed. 

Notice I said we should be angry, not guilty. Much like a fever Anger simply lets us know that there is something wrong, while quilt causes separation. We need to search out the cause and eradicate it. we have to search our own hearts, are we making excuses? are we parroting the excuses of our parents? Are we callously ignoring the plight of those who are suffering because it "doesn't affect me"? 

We have to make a change in our self, and we have to make a change in our community. This deep change doesn't have to be violent but it does have to be deep it does have to be soul rending and it has to be total. Any remnant will grow back with a vengeance and worse than before.

This is not a call for violence. It is a call for peace. Peace is not obtained by pliantly laying down and being walked over, that is occupation, that is oppression, that is exactly where we are now. Peace is obtained through great sacrifice, its obtained through loss of life, loss of pride, loss of false-integrity. Peace is obtained through hard work. and that is where we need to be. 

After a night of rioting in Charleston, SC hundreds of volunteers (of all races) showed up to help the shop keepers and they had cleaned up the damage in about 3 hours. That was people from all walks coming to help not because it was required but because it was right. 

That is the attitude that we all need to have. We all need to be willing to speak up and say if something isn't right.  We need to call out racism from any race, from any point of origin. We need to speak up to the police when they are being needlessly forceful. I'm not saying that the police should never use force, sometimes force is necessary. I'm saying that if citizens see the police using excessive force we not only should, but are required to speak up. Even if the police tell us to mind our own business.  I realize that the people videoing George Flloyd were afraid to anger the policemen, but if more people had said "lighten up he can't breath" the policemen might have listened ( I sadly doubt it.. but its possible...)

Anyhow, this is a long rambling Blog and I'm going to post it with the hopes of sparking thoughtful conversation and creative ideas to help us all come to a better place in the world.

Before I do that, however. I have avoided spiritual things to this point, however I feel that there are those who will read this and quote scriptures about Jesus coming to divide and to cause upheaval etc etc... and I say those were specific situations and specific places. 

I ask that God, the God of heaven, the creator, the one who spoke the worlds into existence would show us his heart. The heart that he had at the beginning when from the foundations of the world he laid down a plan to rescue humanity from their own sin consequences. But I realized that God already has shown us His heart: 

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.

22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:

23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

His heart is that he loves humanity to the point that the Father has given all judgement to the Son... and the Son only does what the father does... the father isn't judging so neither is the son.  I realize there will be a day of judgement but that day is not while we are here. Here we are to love our neighbors as our selves we are to love each other as though we are all related because we are all the children of the Most High!

Pray for our nation, pray for our people, pray for our government and for our police. Pray that we will all come together in the love that Jesus planed for us.

Err on the side of love not of hatred. err on the side of compassion not violence.

Black lives matter don't forget that. Our Black brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, nieces and nephews are all our children. I don't care if you are like me, genetically so white its painful to look at, or if you rae genetically the darkest of the dark, all children are our children, all elderly are our elders speak up speak out love all those. and accept the love of others. 

(I'm sure I missed something didn't say something or said something wrong. I'm sorry for that because I really want people to think to comprehend and to pray about this. not argue with me. I'm not worth arguing with so if I'm wrong Pray God will show me where I'm wrong. Pray God will show us all where we are wrong! )