Do you feel that there is a bigger picture to this black vs. white stigma that is plaguing our nation?

It is killing me because I was an MP in the military and now I work as a Juvenile Probation Officer in a predominately black office and everyone is over here arguing about corrupt cops, and I am just over here like you all don't see the bigger picture? Our nation is tearing itself apart on the inside because of terrible media coverage, instead of focusing on ISIS, or corrupt politicians, or the fact that more white people are killed by law enforcement, or more law enforcement officers are killed than black people, lol. They refuse to look at the bigger picture and want to dumb it down to white vs. black. It is sad to see how far we have fallen in such a short time.

Have we fallen or come full circle? It is said that history is nothing more than the same events repeating themselves. Where does the cycle end? How does it end? Yes, I fully agree that we are ripping ourselves apart from the inside and it starts at the top of the nation. Ideas are thrown around all the time but with the same people holding elected power for 20, 30, 40+ years those "new" ideas are seen as scary. I think SSG Stephan Pendarvis said it best with his comment. Until we stop trying to put ourselves into a labeled system, stigmas will continue.

history will always repeat its self until someone changes it

It's as SSG (Join to see) said, People want to break things down to Black and White. But most of the time life comes down to "It depends".

We all have a tendency to make assumptions about people, and I'm no exception.

For instance... I own two completely different cars, one is a 4WD 1 Ton Diesel, the other is a lowered Japanese sports sedan. If I'm hauling something I take the truck, if I'm going to the grocery store or some other place where traffic is heavy and parking is light.

Anyway, police (especially in small towns) have a tendency to assume what they'll find when they pull me over. In the truck, I don't get pulled over. Granted I drive slightly different in each of the two vehicles, truck just doesn't corner as well, but I have a tendency to "bend" the speed limit in both.

In any case, when I get pulled over and they see the veteran license, get handed a CHL with veteran endorsement they don't write me a ticket... but I think they're assuming that they're going to find an Asian kid street racer in the Sedan.

The other kids on my son's football team assume that the "old white guy" won't listen to the same music as they do... but I do, loud. Then I mix in some of the stuff that the artists they're listening to most likely listened to (because a lot of times they're sampling it).

Baby steps by the man in the mirror. Try and avoid making assumptions.