Why does race matter?

LCpl Timothy McCain — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 14:52:10 -0400

I ask this question because I think we need to have a discussion on race. I have heard many politicians blame the racial animus on the President. And as an African American veteran I have not seen anything he has done to Stoke the racial divide. But that's not what I want to talk about. I'm going to talk about my experience. Growing up I've had Mexicans, Asians, native Americans, and white people eating from my kitchen table, because one we were all related and two my family can really cook. So growing up I personally didn't know anything about racism until I got to be a teen-ager. Now growing up I heard about the KKK, but never saw them or really knew what it was about. Until middle school. My first brush with overt racism was when a guy that I grew up with called me a coon. Honestly I didn't know what he meant I had to go look it up. After I saw what it meant I was dumb founded. This was some body I knew and played with all the time. So, I said maybe he didn't mean it. The next day he called me a porch monkey and I had to go look that up. Now I'm pissed. But instead of taking my anger out on him I tried to figure out why he changed. Now I had spent every summer around this guy except the last two. He went to live with his Mom for two years. And when he came back he came back with family members who I didn't know. But they treated people different. The following year I moved to a different part of the state. To the capital. And the projects and attended a majority black school. Now we did this mid school year. The previous school was majority white. So I got to see the difference in education first hand. I went from a class room of fifteen to a class room of forty. From having finished the book to being on chapter 7 mid year. But I learned a lot more about myself and my history. Which I was never taught at my other school. I taught that I could go to college if I put forth the effort. At no point was I taught to hate or be angry at someone. But noticing how different i was being treated was troubling to me. I felt free and I didn't have to worry about anything. Yes there was crime, but it didn't bother me. If something was stolen you knew who did it and where they were. So here come my first run in for police. My second summer in the projects I had a summer job working a McDonald's. I took my first paycheck and went to the mall. I was followed through the mall by a county police officer and he stopped searched asked me where did I get the money from he didn't believe when I told him I worked for McDonald's. Later that day I got a call from the manager saying a police officer said that I was in the mall stealing so she fired me. All that summer that officer would try mess with me until I started working for the urban league who got me a job on base. And a staff Sargent started to pick me up for work everyday and bring me home. I didn't have another run in with the police until my twenties. I would be driving coming home on liberty and get stopped for speeding in full uniform and held on the side of the road for hours while they searched for drugs. All the while listening to them making smart ass comments about me. This happened several times in one year. My next run-in with the police was a few months after I got out of the military. I saved some money to pay cash for a cheap car and I was taking it to get registered the temporary tag had come off and I had already been to the DMV a few days before but the title of the cars wasn't filled out right, so I had to get with the seller and fix it plus I worked 12 hour shifts, so it took a few days to get back to the DMV. I get pulled over just as I was pulling into the DMV. Got a ticket for failing to register my vehicle. I thought OK I'll show the judge that registered my vehicle on time and paid my taxes on the car he will dismiss the case. Well I was found guilty anyway. I was pissed, but I paid the fine. My next run-in was with the same police department and court. Driving under a suspension second offense. I successfully argued that I wasn't notified on both accounts that my license was suspended. I used the information provided by the police to prove it. Then the officer commits perjury. Because the car I was driving was just purchased a week before she pulled me over she claimed I stole the forty five day temporary tag issued by the state. So I convicted on all the charges and held in isolation for a week so I couldn't appeal. My latest incident with police a sheriff deputy writes a trespass notice and arrest me for violating the notice a the same time. But according to the law trespass in my state is a civil matter and only the court can issue a criminal trespass notice only after awarding damages in a civil case. Well none of that mattered to the judge or the officer I was sentenced to thirty days and jail. Again held in isolation for eight days to prevent an appeal. I later learned that it's the county's unwritten policy to hold people in isolation when the conviction in Magistrate Court is suspect. Because the county has successfully sued for wrongful convictions and imprisonment. On trespass cases. I often get pulled over and searched and never know the reason for the stop. I've had weapons drawn on me for asking why was I stopped. I have been handcuffed hit in the head for saying no I don't consent to a search. All this before the President came to office. I know people who have been shot and killed by the police while complying with their orders. I know five police departments who leadership are racist. I can name on that you all will know North Charleston PD. The shooting last year wasn't their first incident it was just the first caught on tape. Remember the police chief had already said something different happen before the video came out and said thought the shooting was justified. When people say there is a war on cops I don't believe it. Because the numbers don't lie. More police officers have died from cancer, heart attacks, and traffic accident each year than violent acts. But mid way this year over 900 unarmed people have been killed by police. Yes the Dallas shooting was tragic especially when a department like that one has done so much to improve how they police.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Jul 9 at 2016 3:03 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 15:03:02 -0400

WOW! Thanks for Perspective. You're right why should it Matter! but unfortunately it does. Was Racism around before President Obama, yes and it will be around after he leaves the spotlight. The Only thing that has changed is that an African American has achieved the Highest Office in the Country and now some People feel that we are now "Post Racial" whatever that is supposed to mean, which isn't much and if anything he has been a Lightning Rod for what was once more Covert Racism, now it is much more Overt in nature.

Response by CPT Joseph K Murdock made Jul 9 at 2016 3:05 PM

CPT Joseph K Murdock — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 15:05:22 -0400

I loved being a commander because I could nip racism in the bud by example and stating we all bleed red regardless of skin color.

Response by SSG Roderick Smith made Jul 9 at 2016 3:06 PM

SSG Roderick Smith — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 15:06:01 -0400

I'm going to ignore most of this because even though I'm sure you have integrity, it still amounts to hearsay on my end.

To everything else, I say:

There is no war on blacks.

There IS a war on police... not by black people as a whole, but by society.

Police aren't out to screw you over. Trust me on that. But if you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes. That goes for everybody; black, white, police, whoever. I'm tired of this "racism is the problem" narrative. Its garbage. Its just an excuse to disobey rules and laws set up to keep order and keep citizens safe.

Response by LTC David Brown made Jul 9 at 2016 3:06 PM

LTC David Brown — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 15:06:43 -0400

Race is largely an artificial construct. Man that is incredible. You must just look guilty! I have had a few run ins, so have most people. Yours seem to take the cake. I had a white friend who seemed to have those kind of things happen to him.

Response by TSgt Scott Zane made Jul 9 at 2016 3:26 PM

TSgt Scott Zane — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 15:26:28 -0400

Though all of your info is hearsay to me, I'm apt to believe every word of it. A couple of good friends of mine who I served with have told me stories of the encounters they've had with police. One of them told me how he once got stopped and questioned when he was in the Army and stationed at Los Alamitos AAF near Los Angeles. He said he was in his Army-issued PT gear jogging one morning when a local cop stopped him and questioned him about what he was doing. I guess the cop made some stupid assumption that because he was "running", he must have been fleeing the scene of whatever crime he just committed. He mentioned a few other stories of his contacts with law enforcement too. I'm from a part of Southern California where racism does exist, but it "seems" like it's much less a problem in my area than it apparently is in other parts of Southern Cal. I was actually surprised when he told me about the experiences that friend has had in his experience being in Southern Cal.

Again, it's all hearsay, but I know my friends well enough to know they aren't habitual "story fabricators". I have no reason to doubt the things they've told me about.

Response by SSG Stephan Pendarvis made Jul 9 at 2016 3:27 PM

SSG Stephan Pendarvis — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 15:27:16 -0400

Wow! That is something bro. I am sorry you went through that...but going through that taught you something. I have faced little racism in my life. I have had such an innocent (Carlton Banks from the Prince of BelAir) view on life up until my late 20s sad to say. I just expected the best from people. I am sure I was treated poorly more than I realized and just chalked it up to hard training or I was not good enough to excel. I look back now and can see instances where things could be racist events...I say could be because I try to use wise vision to see things now..meaning not looking with anger or sadness because looking through those lenses the world will take on that hue. I try to use right understanding, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, concentration and mindfulness. I look back and can definitely see instances that were racist..but my mind refused to believe that people would be like that so I believed it was something else....my fault. Not my skin color fault...but...my fault as a person. I believed I was not good enough as a person...so let me try harder. It is hard to know whether it is your skin color they are looking at or are you just not really cutting the mustard. Anyway...I have never been arrested or had those experiences that you have had....I know they happen everyday. The question of why does a person hate me for being black has caused me to even start thinking and asking myself deep questions. Why do I dislike gay people? Why do I dislike Airforce? Why do I dislike whatever? It has caused me to search out the root causes in myself and tear open my own belief systems from my conditioned past...things I was taught by church, family, military, and my own hurt. I had to start healing myself and realize that what I believe....is not me per say. They are just labels that I have acquired over time...but they are not who I am. But you cannot tell a racist who has fear that blinds him or her to the truth that. On some level...they want to have that fear...They think it protects them. They think that it is them and they will defend it with their last breath. Some things are so ingrained into certain peoples psyche that it can never get out...like a computer virus...and no version of Norton can remove it. That hate is in there and the fear feeds it..makes it grow. The truth is that they are suffering tremendously. And they need someone or something to take it out on. They are in too much pain to think and dissect the layers of years of conditioning. Some know that even if they did...they would probably be disowned by family or lose jobs. So they pick the lesser of two evils and pick the battles that make sense to them. After a while...they learn to love the hate and suffering. This is the same mindset for bullies, racists, and any person or group that creates an us vs them mentality.

My two pennies........

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 9 at 2016 3:43 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 15:43:21 -0400

I think that's a good question, why does race matter at this point. Almost every black person I know has some European ancestry... and I suspect that most white people (including myself) have some African ancestry. DNA tests show that I've got some sub-Saharan African, as well as North African. I've even got some Mongolian ancestry, the Golden Horde definitely left it's mark on Europe. That said, why should a bunch of people of mixed racial backgrounds care about race?

We should toss the concept of race right out the window, we are all mutts. The problem isn't race, it's culture. Many Americans come from a culture of poverty, many Americans have suffered because our culture frequently endorses discrimination based on the color of our skin, or the way we dress, or how poor we look.

I grew up as an Army brat in Germany, we were all Americans and if there was any division between us it was between officers kids and the kids of enlisted soldiers. Then my family left Germany and that all changed, I suffered culture shock in Southern Louisiana. All the black people were hanging out together and all the white people were hanging out together, the ratio at the was fairly even. I had a hard time not sleeping in class, because everything they were teaching was material I had learned years ago. That said, I wasn't exposed to any overt racism in Louisiana, everyone seemed to get along even though people seems to self segregate based on skin color. It wasn't until later when we moved to Mississippi that I was exposed to hate for the first time, the Klan was prominent... my dad had become a Preacher and many of the kids at our church had grown up having been taught to hate black people. I kept my mouth shut when my friends talked about going out and shooting at Black people, I kept my mouth shut when my friends tortured the only openly gay kid in school. I become a coward, and I am ashamed that I lacked the courage to take a stand.

The problem isn't with the color of someones skin though, it's with our cultures. Culture is something that can be changed, just as it's now considered unacceptable for moat Southern states to fly a Confederate battle flag, or for there to be separate water fountains for White and Black people. We can celebrate the richness of culture, however at the same time we need to root out the poison that causes us to act with hate toward people we believe to be different from us.

Response by SFC Kenneth Hunnell made Jul 9 at 2016 4:04 PM

SFC Kenneth Hunnell — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 16:04:29 -0400

It doesn't, it's the hate filled people that cause the problem.
Racism has no skin

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Jul 9 at 2016 4:45 PM

CPT Jack Durish — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 16:45:00 -0400

The answer to your question is well camouflaged behind many layers of social and cultural bias. To find it you have to strip away the irrelevant and look deeply into the manner in which people cope with life. At the root of it you'll find familial and tribal bonds. People simply feel safer among those they recognize. That which is familiar is more trustworthy than that which is not. When people feel safe they are better able to cope with differences. However, in times like these when the economy is in the pits and an alien religion threatens us in word and deed, we sink back into the comforting embrace of the family, the tribe, the familiar. I highly recommend that you read "Painted Bird" by Jerzy Kosinski for a striped down view of this point of view. (Then you might read a couple of my books. They won't help your understanding. I just want to sell books)
https://www.amazon.com/Painted-Bird-Jerzy-Kosinski-ebook/dp/B004I6DD2E/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid= [login to see] &sr=1-1&keywords=painted+bird

The Painted Bird - Kindle edition by Jerzy Kosinski. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @...

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Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 9 at 2016 4:47 PM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 16:47:17 -0400

LCpl Timothy McCain I agree with SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4". I am deeply disturbed at what I see happening in our country. There is no place on any police force for officers that misuse their authority. At the same time, I will not stand for folks that want cops dead. We have racists of all colors and we have extremists on both sides that seem intent on keeping things stirred up. The majority of Americans are good people, so how do we take our country, America, back from the extremists on both sides?

Response by LCpl Timothy McCain made Jul 9 at 2016 4:57 PM

LCpl Timothy McCain — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 16:57:57 -0400

I thank everyone for responding. Everyone has made valid points.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 9 at 2016 5:00 PM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 17:00:21 -0400

it's about respect. If you don't give it, you won't get it. People don't have respect for another and everybody wears their damn feelings on their sleeve. When you mix those together. You get a dumpster fire!! You can credit it to modern parenting. People gonna hate and kill one another. Always have and always will. But if you have respect for another and treat them like another human. less people will hate you and want to kill you. But you gotta fix the foundation before you fix the walls. And that foundation is how folks are raised. People gonna raise their kids the way they were raised. That's why history repeats itself.

Response by MSG Pat Colby made Jul 9 at 2016 5:07 PM

MSG Pat Colby — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 17:07:54 -0400

24+ years in the Army and I've met more Black racists than White racists.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Jul 9 at 2016 5:56 PM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 17:56:44 -0400

We're all humans, too many people are worried about skin color.

Response by TSgt Kenneth Ellis made Jul 9 at 2016 8:24 PM

TSgt Kenneth Ellis — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 20:24:54 -0400

I grew up in Norwalk California. I went to school with Mexicans. I thought of them as my friends not were there parents came from. We only had on Back Student in my high school. And he was a foreign exchange student. And when I returned after 20 years. I'm having dinner with my Mom and Dad and sister. She works for the school. I use the word Mexican. And my sister says that you cannot use that word anymore. A I don't remember if she said I should use Hispanic.

Response by Sgt Thomas Greer made Jul 9 at 2016 9:32 PM

Sgt Thomas Greer — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 21:32:20 -0400

Tim, I feel your pain brother. Grew up in Los Angeles and never knew racism until I joined the Air Force. I love having open and honest discussions with people who have experienced the perplexing problem of racism and the many heartaches and grief it brings. Rea, yellow, black and white, are all precious in His sight. As human beings we are all brothers and sisters and should conduct ourselves accordingly.

Response by Sgt David Hesser made Jul 9 at 2016 10:05 PM

Sgt David Hesser — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 22:05:13 -0400

There is nothing I detest more than racism of any kind, I was brought up that way by my mother we lived in Tustin beside El Toro where she work and all her friends where from the base of all colors, so I never really experienced it either way until I was stationed at Montford point for mechanics school, while on leave with a good friend we decided to visit DC while walking to the USO I guess we went into the wrong neighbor hood where I was approached by about 10 guys who told me my type was not welcomed their or allowed it was quite a shock to me and I wish I could say that was the last time I saw this stuff, but I can not control the worlds actions just my own so I live by a standard rule GOD made mankind in the image of himself so anyone that thinks they are better than some one else must think they are better than God and I choose not to walk in their shoes

Response by SGT Jason Latham made Jul 9 at 2016 11:13 PM

SGT Jason Latham — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 23:13:52 -0400

It should not matter

Response by MSgt Steven Holt, NRP, CCEMT-P made Jul 9 at 2016 11:35 PM

MSgt Steven Holt, NRP, CCEMT-P — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 23:35:20 -0400

First, let me say I'm deeply troubled by the experiences you've listed here. It irritates me to no end when an individual is harassed simply because they are "different" (I hate that word but couldn't figure out a better way to type what I mean).

Second, I can't speak for anyone but myself so here goes.... I was raised in farm country in the South. I was always taught by my dad and grandfather to judge a person based on their actions, attitude, and character and not by the color of their skin. Whether a person was black, red, brown, yellow, or blue with purple poke-a-dots was irrelevant. If they were honest and trustworthy, I was taught to respect them for who their character proved them to be.

I have lots of ethnically diverse friends. They are as dear to me as any of my Caucasian friends. They are some of the most hardworking, dependable, loyal individuals you could ever hope to meet. I also know a few White folks I wouldn't cross a room to urinate on them if they were on fire.

Maybe one day we can ALL put aside our hatred and anger and see people for who they really are instead of just a skin color. Maybe on that day, we'll realize there is just one race after all... the Human race.

Response by SGM Steve Wettstein made Jul 10 at 2016 12:19 AM

SGM Steve Wettstein — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 00:19:39 -0400

Actions and the quality of the person should be all that matters.

Response by TSgt J.L. Brown Jr made Jul 10 at 2016 2:56 AM

TSgt J.L. Brown Jr — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 02:56:56 -0400

if you have nit see it, your blind, he has been stoking the fire every since hes been in office,

Response by SMSgt Thor Merich made Jul 11 at 2016 9:15 PM

SMSgt Thor Merich — Mon, 11 Jul 2016 21:15:17 -0400

Race doesn't matter to me. Behavior matters. If you act like a thug, bully or crook, then that's the way you should be treated. At least in a perfect world.

I can't control others and only have control over my own actions. Everyone gets treated with respect up until you prove to me that you don't deserve my respect.

BTW, your stats are off a bit. While overall police deaths are down this year (compared to last) by 11%, deaths by gunfire are up 63%. The number 1 killer of cops each year is car accidents. According to USA Today, as of July 6th, 2016, there were 535 people killed in the US by the police. That's total, the majority of them were White and not Black. There is no breakdown of how many were unarmed.

Response by Cpl Glynis Sakowicz made Jul 21 at 2016 9:12 AM

Cpl Glynis Sakowicz — Thu, 21 Jul 2016 09:12:43 -0400

Think about it... every single human, is 98% identical in genetics. There is only about two percent of us that differs.

I grew up in a multi-racial family, with cousins of every color, eating 'soul-food, speaking Spanish. I went to a small school, where most of the kids were farm and ranch kids, who came to school in boots, jeans and smelling of barns and in the winter, the aroma of wood fires that many of us used to heat their homes.

It was only after I left home, that I realized there were small minded people in this world, that focused on skin color. Stunned by this idea, I tried all my life to understand it, but you know, I never have.

Dislike others for their actions or their personalities, but the fact that we are far more alike than we are different, should matter so much more than petty first impressions.

I look at my grandson, and I wonder, because his skin is light, will he fall into believing that he's better or worse than others because of this. At the moment, his best friend is Black and Hispanic, and his favorite treat is Pan Dulce from the little bakery a few streets away. He's learning Spanish, loves Hip-hop, and in a few years, he's going to have a Bar Mitzva. I would like to think that he's growing up well, if a little rowdy, and too dependent on video games, but he won't be learning hate in this house... I wish I could say the same for all the other kids out there...

Response by Col Dona Marie Iversen made Jul 22 at 2016 10:18 AM

Col Dona Marie Iversen — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 10:18:11 -0400

Sad! But you are a good man, educated & tolerate. There are good and bad in all races and religion. Just like cancer and drug addiction racism crosses all humans, I think it 's ignorance. We need to look into each others heart and soul, not our color. We need to become 'colored blind'. In a previous post I wrote we will never eradicate racism but with communication, education and compassion we will decrease it. BUT, it must start with us, a grass roots movement. No good comes from stereo typing. Thank you for sharing your story!

Response by TSgt Kenneth Ellis made Jul 22 at 2016 10:37 AM

TSgt Kenneth Ellis — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 10:37:01 -0400

America is an imperfect nation. Built by slaves. He calls the police stupid. And he promotes groups like BLM.