Re: What do you think of this video?
I'm going to tell you all something. I have two neighbors. they are a couple, husband and wife. Both of them are black. One is super nice; the other is super mean. You get that in every color; just plain fact. The wife has done everything in her power to get myself and my wife kicked out of this complex. she first took issue with how many children we had, then she took issue with one of them walking to and from the bus stop on his own. then she took issue with my wife's guidedog.
And that? that forced us to call the cops. Know why that matters to me personally? I'll tell you why it matters, but first, we're going to tackle something else that makes this whole thing important. I've made no bones about the fact that in many circles I'm considered white because of the way I look and the way I sound, but I'm actually Mexican and I hold proudly to that. Even my own people have trouble believing it though, and my parents have called me forgetful of my roots, traitor, duplicitous... You name it. They said they'd never take me to Mexico or I'd be shot.
so what, you might be asking? Simple. I don't know if my neighbors know I'm Mexican; they may think, that because I'm married to a woman with Anglo roots? I must be white too! Even funnier? I said she's got Anglo roots; she's also half native. Our whole life is full of multiracial facts, and the saddest thing is that it's our oldest family members who are having the hardest time dealing with that, not us, nor our children. My wife's been told that because she married me she'll be going to hell!
Anyway, this neighbor woman of ours... I confess I don't even know her name because she's never been willing to give it to us but instead goes on these massive tirades about things; we didn't want to call the cops on her. Why? Because we know the way they live. You can claim all day and all night long that if they have nothing to hide, they have nothing to fear. the problem with that philosophy is that if they seriously do have nothing to fear, they shouldn't be made to feel like they do. I know for a fact that these people have Marijuana and that they smoke it regularly. I can smell it almost every time I walk out. Is it legal? I don't know. Is it medically approved? I don't know. I could call the cops to examine this matter further, but honestly? It's none of my business! If they're doing something they shouldn't be doing, that's on them and between them and the apartment complex people.
I said we didn't want to call the police for all the harassing she was doing. In the end, that's not why we called them. We called them because she said she was going to and we took her at her word, so figured we'd initiate the process as quickly and peacefully as we could. Since that day, that lady has not engaged us in any way shape or form, but her husband continues to be as nice as he's ever been. When we made the call, we told them that it wasn't the whole of the household who had issues with our dog or even with our life; it was just this woman. As a result? they sent a female officer. when it was all said and done, the female officer had told this woman that we could get an injunction/restraining order against her which would complicate her life if she intended to keep living in this particular complex. As verbally aggressive as this lady was being, none of us felt the need to bite back.
Why? Because people are currently being asked to stay locked behind closed doors! What's going on behind those closed dors? Goodness only knows, but not everyone's ok with being behind closed doors because of a virus! What was this woman's life like before this thing broke out? I really don't know, and I doubt I'll ever really find out. What I do know is that culture runs deep, and if she has some sort of perception of our family being a bunch of ultra-white powerhouse who just so happen to have connections to local officials in the state of Florida? She can't be looking at that too kindly. I'm thankful her husband does not take that approach with us; it was an unexpected but absolutely pleasant surprise.
At the end of the day though? We all have our demons to battle with, and as was pointed out in another topic, it's easy to say that our's should be our priority and we should let everyone else deal with their own. If you're one of the people who's saying that? If you're one of the people who's claiming that black people are just escalating the issue and that they shouyld take a good look at themselves in a mirror? I simply ask you this, what makes you so much better? To this day, I can honestly say that I've had more black people be mean to me than white people. Almost every single African American I've ever met has taken some sort of issue with me, even if all we've done is exchanged a few words. Should that make me dislike black people as a whole? Nope... I don't care if every other black person I come across hates me because of perception or whatever the case may be... I'll not dislike them collectively, because they're people, too. they're people who have had their culture messed with, disrupted, degraded, stamped on, imprisoned and silenced and beyond.
And not all of them turned out to be mean. some of them are the absolute nicest people I've had the fortune to come across, and that they were willing to trust me and allow me access to their lives is an absolute honor to me! At least one of them comes on this forum and has helped inspire me to greater heights! In short? You don't get people who already mistrust you to like you by telling them that all lives matter, because they already know that. they need to know that their lives matter! Mean it! do their lives matter to you? Because if they don't, then you're just one of many who are helping to perpetuate the issue.
And as much as I hate the idiotic riots on the street, as much as I wish it would stop, as much as I don't approve of all the vandalism and destruction being commited in the name of change, I also understand the reason why. No, I do not agree with it. I said I understand it. I want to change it, but it's only going to change when more people, collectively, make those who are doing it feel like THEIR! LIVES! MATTER! You can claim they're not like you! You can claim they don't want you! You can claim they've wronged you! But you can't claim they matter less, because whether we're talking white, black or brown, underneath the surface, all blood runs red.
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