I found a song that really says it all to me. This is how I have always felt. It is only recently I have realized thought I believed it I was not living it. I plan to try living by these words. You got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything. https://youtu.be/Z_s-Qk07KxA I wish I wrote that song. Fact is I could not have said it better. Sometimes we become blinded by things we want and it colors our sight to what is really going on.
Which is not to say I never stood for anything before. About 10 years ago we had a really mean woman in the neighborhood and she had a violent streak. She had punched 2 of the other women in the neighborhood in the face, and took a ball bat to a woman's boyfriend in his own house. She beat him so bad he was bruised for days. My encounter with her came at the local food bank. There had been a mix up at the distribution center and the wrong hams were sent we got 10 that were meant for the soup kitchen and they got 20 meant for ours. The tenants organization tried to do their best after finding out the ones they sent to the soup kitchen were already used so the error could not be fixed. She gave the 10 big hams to the first 10 people through the door, and the remaining 10 smaller ones to the next 10 in. That left them 10 short, so she gave everyone else extra other canned meats like tuna, salmon, chicken, and beef. I myself was late getting there and did not get a ham, but I thought the compromise was a good one all things considered.
I had walked down the street to remind a neighbor about the food bank at the request of the president of the organization. As I walked through the ramp door of the hall when I returned, I walked in just in time to hear this woman that had been violent before screaming at the council. She said, "I BET EVERY F***ING PERSON IN HERE GOT A HAM BUT ME." Me being who I am and knowing it not to be true. I said to her in a normal voice, " Um no I came in late like you and I did not get one either the warehouse made a mistake and Eva is doing the best she can, but how you gonna get mad about something that is being given to you for free?" Well that simple question and the fact I proved her wrong turned her attentions from the council to me. She started yelling at me and when she saw I was not running away she moved closer. She kept yelling and getting closer till her face was about 8 inches from mine, at that point she said I needed to stay out of her business or she was gonna punch me in the face. The whole time she was yelling and moving closer I stood my ground I did not move back an inch. I also maintained eye contact with her staring a whole through her not blinking. When she saw I was not gonna flinch or run or even back away from her she realized I was not scared of her. (OR SO SHE THOUGHT) fact is if she could have seen inside my chest to my heart she would have seen it beating so hard it nearly popped out of my chest. Because I stood my ground did not flinch and did not run she did not know what would happen to her if she touched me. I already had a plan I was watching her body language for any sign of a swing in my direction. If she had I was ready to duck it and my punch would have been in her stomach, but it was not necessary. Because I stared her down and did not even reply to her shouting as many would have she had no clue what my next move would have been had she hit me. Seeing that I was not gonna back down she stepped away from me and at that point I said to her again in a normal voice, "Oh and by the way if you do not want me in your business do not bring me in it. You are the one that said you betted everyone in here got a ham but you and I was just pointing out the hole in your logic."
It was a good thing I spoke up when I did because it could have gotten ugly. I did not mention it before because to me it is unimportant, but the whole council was white and this was a black lady. The fact that I did not get a ham either and I was white made it clear to her BEFORE SHE COULD EVEN SAY IT that it was not a racist issue that kept her from getting a ham it was a clerical one at the warehouse. I knew this woman for many years and knew how she was. She tried to make anytime anyone said anything against her or tried to stop her from being disrespectful or mean she tried to make it about race.
Frankly 80% of the things people want to make about race have nothing to do with race. NOTICE I DID NOT SAY IT NEVER DOES. I said 80% of the time it does not. I blame the media for everyone wanting to cry racism even when that is not the motivating factor. Lets look at the case of the African American man that died in police custody when it took like 5 officers to arrest him. They had video of it HE WAS RESISTING AREST, AND FIGHTING WITH THE OFFICERS. That is why it took so much force to control him, but did the media say that in the story noooooooooo they would not do that the truth is boring. Drama and racism sells papers and makes people watch. Thing is people need to see what they are watching not listen to what the announcers are trying to use to bait you into watching them. You know dang well if the officers and the suspect were ALL white or if the officers were black and the suspect were white it would have been reported very differently. It would have been like man dies in police custody when excessive force was needed to subdue the man. No mention of color would have been said and for a good reason IT DOES NOT MATTER. The media make it an issue when it does not need to be and in doing so keep the drama stirring instead of letting this country come together as one.
( CLIMBS DOWN OFF SOAP BOX) LOL
Ok I get wound up sometimes lol. But no one can say I do not take stands when I believe some thing is wrong.
