Close your eyes and imagine if you will, you were a Pilgrim setting foot onto the shores of an America occupied by Native Americans. Imagine also, you were a white man going over to Africa to capture people for the purpose of slavery. Can you see yourself in either of these situations? Alright, now that you can, imagine as a Pilgrim your intent was to steal as much land as possible from Native Americans but you didn’t own guns. How successful do you imagine that campaign might have been? Furthermore, how much success do you think you might have had as a white man in Africa trying to capture slaves without guns? Not much in either case wouldn't you agree?
You see, most Americans don’t own guns for protection from the future, they own guns for protection from the past. Allow me to expound. The other night I took part in a discussion on ‘Hot Topics Talk Radio’ with my good friend and host Toni Breedlove about “The Threat of the Black Man,” http://www.hottopicstalkradio.com/grammies-blog-spot.html and on http://ow.ly/vS9gS. During the discussion, the phenomena of white women locking their car doors when they saw a black man arose, and one caller remarked that he believed that behavior, (locking doors) was human nature. I immediately challenged that notion by pointing out that I never locked my doors when I saw a white woman approaching, adding that I believed that behavior was not a natural reaction but in fact was learned behavior. However, while reflecting on the topic later in the evening, I realized the behavior is not only learned behavior but that it also constitutes paranoia, yes, paranoia.
Wikipedia defines paranoia as, a thought process believed to be heavily influencedby anxiety or fearoften to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself. Need I say more? Anxiety or fear often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Anxiety, fear, delusion and irrationality, classic perceived tenets for “Stand Your Ground,” “Make My Day,” and “Shoot First,” state laws asserting expansive rights to self-defense. Why are these people anxious? Why are they fearful? What is the catalyst for their delusion and irrationality? Well I say guilt and the fear of losing power.
You see, Pilgrims could not have overpowered Native Americans, or stole their lands, and displaced a people without guns. White men could not have made slaves out of Africans without guns. Hell, for that matter white folks would not be in power without guns –their power lies in their guns. Guilt plays its role in making whites paranoid in the belief that all people of color despise them (whites) based on the way whites have treated people of color throughout history. Speaking of history, the aforementioned learned behavior of whites to lock cars doors, clutch purses, etc dates back centuries. I wrote an article some months ago,“Nigger Stealing”: How the myth of blacks and crime …, in which I talk about a scene from the movie “Lincoln.” In that scene a woman from Missouri, talks about the belief that slaves would steal chickens and her husband’s job if given their (slaves) freedom. The question that came to mind was how did slaves gain a reputation for stealing chickens, not to mention a white man’s job, in 1865?
That sentiment is par for the course. When faced with the prospect of losing power whites revert to one of three things, 1) demonization 2) criminalization and 3) assassination. Native Americans were portrayed as drunken devils (demonization) that would plunder and pillage cities and towns and rape white women. Blacks and in particular black men were and continue to be portrayed as unintelligent, lazy good-for-nothings who will steal, kill and rape white women (criminalization). The potential for the first two justify number three, assassination. Slaughtering of Indian Nations, ethnic cleansing of black towns, Rosewood, Fl in 1923, Tulsa, Ok (The Greenwood District) in 1921 etc, with the razing of Rosewood occurring as a result of false claims of rape by a white woman.
Not to mention Emmett Till another victim of the perceived fear of a black wanting a white woman, the assassinations of Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King and the countless and nameless number of strange fruit hanged from trees at lynching parties. No need to site statistics, because the only number that matters is one, the one that represents the loss that counts to a family. Fast-forward to present-day America and the aforementioned “Stand Your Ground” Make My Day” and “Shoot First” laws represent legal substitutions for assassinations and lynchings.
Make no mistake about it, all of this talk about 2nd Amendment rights and “Don’t Tread on Me,” is a load of crap. Mainstream America, or as it is popularly known, “Real America” is scared out of its wits just as the founders were of the British. Just as the pilgrims were of Native Americans, just as slave owners were afraid of Africans and slaves, and finally, just as they are afraid of all people of color in America today especially since we have our first African-American president but not because of a real threat. They (whites) are paranoid. I learned some time ago that when a person is left with no reasonable argument to defend his or her actions violence usually follows. If that is the case then I imagine we are left to assume that as it relates to White America past is prologue and that somewhere in the distance there is a chicken on his way home to roost.
~~~ Jay Arrington, Maryland Daily Examiner
- See more at: http://www.marylanddailyexaminer.com/gun-power-real-reason-americas-gun-obsession/#sthash.lPLWOtdU.dpuf
You see, most Americans don’t own guns for protection from the future, they own guns for protection from the past. Allow me to expound. The other night I took part in a discussion on ‘Hot Topics Talk Radio’ with my good friend and host Toni Breedlove about “The Threat of the Black Man,” http://www.hottopicstalkradio.com/grammies-blog-spot.html and on http://ow.ly/vS9gS. During the discussion, the phenomena of white women locking their car doors when they saw a black man arose, and one caller remarked that he believed that behavior, (locking doors) was human nature. I immediately challenged that notion by pointing out that I never locked my doors when I saw a white woman approaching, adding that I believed that behavior was not a natural reaction but in fact was learned behavior. However, while reflecting on the topic later in the evening, I realized the behavior is not only learned behavior but that it also constitutes paranoia, yes, paranoia.
Wikipedia defines paranoia as, a thought process believed to be heavily influencedby anxiety or fearoften to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself. Need I say more? Anxiety or fear often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Anxiety, fear, delusion and irrationality, classic perceived tenets for “Stand Your Ground,” “Make My Day,” and “Shoot First,” state laws asserting expansive rights to self-defense. Why are these people anxious? Why are they fearful? What is the catalyst for their delusion and irrationality? Well I say guilt and the fear of losing power.
You see, Pilgrims could not have overpowered Native Americans, or stole their lands, and displaced a people without guns. White men could not have made slaves out of Africans without guns. Hell, for that matter white folks would not be in power without guns –their power lies in their guns. Guilt plays its role in making whites paranoid in the belief that all people of color despise them (whites) based on the way whites have treated people of color throughout history. Speaking of history, the aforementioned learned behavior of whites to lock cars doors, clutch purses, etc dates back centuries. I wrote an article some months ago,“Nigger Stealing”: How the myth of blacks and crime …, in which I talk about a scene from the movie “Lincoln.” In that scene a woman from Missouri, talks about the belief that slaves would steal chickens and her husband’s job if given their (slaves) freedom. The question that came to mind was how did slaves gain a reputation for stealing chickens, not to mention a white man’s job, in 1865?
That sentiment is par for the course. When faced with the prospect of losing power whites revert to one of three things, 1) demonization 2) criminalization and 3) assassination. Native Americans were portrayed as drunken devils (demonization) that would plunder and pillage cities and towns and rape white women. Blacks and in particular black men were and continue to be portrayed as unintelligent, lazy good-for-nothings who will steal, kill and rape white women (criminalization). The potential for the first two justify number three, assassination. Slaughtering of Indian Nations, ethnic cleansing of black towns, Rosewood, Fl in 1923, Tulsa, Ok (The Greenwood District) in 1921 etc, with the razing of Rosewood occurring as a result of false claims of rape by a white woman.
Not to mention Emmett Till another victim of the perceived fear of a black wanting a white woman, the assassinations of Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King and the countless and nameless number of strange fruit hanged from trees at lynching parties. No need to site statistics, because the only number that matters is one, the one that represents the loss that counts to a family. Fast-forward to present-day America and the aforementioned “Stand Your Ground” Make My Day” and “Shoot First” laws represent legal substitutions for assassinations and lynchings.
Make no mistake about it, all of this talk about 2nd Amendment rights and “Don’t Tread on Me,” is a load of crap. Mainstream America, or as it is popularly known, “Real America” is scared out of its wits just as the founders were of the British. Just as the pilgrims were of Native Americans, just as slave owners were afraid of Africans and slaves, and finally, just as they are afraid of all people of color in America today especially since we have our first African-American president but not because of a real threat. They (whites) are paranoid. I learned some time ago that when a person is left with no reasonable argument to defend his or her actions violence usually follows. If that is the case then I imagine we are left to assume that as it relates to White America past is prologue and that somewhere in the distance there is a chicken on his way home to roost.
~~~ Jay Arrington, Maryland Daily Examiner
- See more at: http://www.marylanddailyexaminer.com/gun-power-real-reason-americas-gun-obsession/#sthash.lPLWOtdU.dpuf
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