DWB - Driving While Black

Here's a facebook post from a good friend of mine, David Walker.

David is a professional photographer, writer, artist, husband, father, brother, son, grandson and friend. His skin happens to be darker than mine. I am afraid for him and for so many others like him.

     

Daddy David

Grandson David

People feel safer to express their hate and bigotry by their support of a small minded candidate who has stirred up these hidden feelings by his innuendos and outright and nastiness. He has created a safe zone for the smirks and hate expressed by those attracted to his entertainment quality.

Think about your own black friends. How would you you feel if any of them were pulled over for the offense of DWB (Driving While Black)?

"I could sum up my feelings with two words: fear and helplessness. I am fearful that my life could be taken based on a misunderstanding by those that are sworn to protect me. I only have one life. I feel helpless. I feel as if my life is in someone else's hands, and they may have preconceived ideas about how I will conduct myself.

The helplessness has a physical weight, man. It seems as if I am always trying to convince people that my concerns are legitimate and that a badge does not sanctify every action of a law enforcement officer. Many of these same individuals tell me that all lives matter. The Declaration of Independence affirms that "all men are created equal." "All" did not include me then, so why should I assume that it includes me now? Perhaps a person's value at birth does not determine how others treat them or their worth in life. I am a black man. Does my life matter? It seems to be a cumbersome phrase for many even to utter aloud. I am also a writer. Fortunately, I have the ability to articulate my thoughts and feelings. I feel sorry for those that cannot, but their pain in no less real.

I would say that the fear and helplessness comes from the realization that if ever in have a misunderstanding with a law enforcement officer and am shot, few will listen to me. Onlookers will only say, "I do not see the problem," or they may tell me that somehow, someway, this is all my fault.

I am tired. Unfriend me if you want".

David Walker

David Walker is an American lifestyle photographer, graphic designer, and essayist and Author of The Augustan: Short, thought-provoking commentary on culture, politics, and social issues.

Times have changed...so, quit complaining - Cranston Herald

Times have changed...so, quit complaining - Cranston Herald

If you like, use the link above to post your comments to the original article so Charlie Lawrence can see them!

To the Editor:

I am white. I am male. I am also 68 and a Vietnam Era veteran. And I am angry.
And I know many people my age who are also angry. They see gays and lesbians demanding the right to get married. They see a black man in the White House with a strange sounding name, changing our health care system and suggesting that we as a nation might have something to do with the sorry state of affairs in the world.

To my fellow seniors who are upset and alarmed at this, I have a message: Stop feeling sorry for yourself! Enough of your whining! The world is changing, and it's about time you got off your mental easy chair and did the same! Your stubborn resistance to change is maddening!

Upset about gay lifestyle? I am married more than 40 years ... to a woman ... and I do not in any way feel threatened by gays and lesbians who wish to be wed. Here's some advice – one senior to another – try minding your own business. 

When I see you no longer eating pork or working on Sunday, then I'll take your Bible-based opposition to gay marriage seriously. 

And while you are at it, stop complaining about this so-called “socialist” president as you sit in your easy chairs collecting both Medicare and Social Security. And don't swallow the hogwash about a Republican saving Medicare and a Democrat “robbing” it. Please, don't make seniors look senile by swallowing that lie. ( I'll deal with that lie in my next letter.)
You constantly lament how things have gotten worse. Yes, they have.

Ours was a noble generation that fought for Medicare, for equal rights for women and blacks, clean air and water and decent wages for all. Now too many of us fight for tax breaks for the wealthiest few and more power and money for corporations. How noble is that?

We admired and respected broadcasters like Walter Cronkite and Paul Harvey. Men of integrity. Now we are taken in by any right-wing blowhard with a microphone, the biggest being a four-times married, self-admitted drug abuser. Another so insane, even Fox News dropped him.

And, yes, there is a black man in the White House. It's a sign of the changing face of America. I fully understand for many this is an uncomfortable sign; your old world is gone. For most, what you feel is not bigotry; it's fear. Deep down fear. 

Please! It's 2012. Stop fearing change! Embrace it! Welcome it as we did so many years ago because change is here and will continue with or without our help.

Charlie Lawrence
Johnston