"I'm absolutely convinced that a riot merely intensifies the fears of the white community while relieving the guilt. . . But it is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear? . . . It has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity."
Martin Luther King Jr.
"The Other America" March 14, 1968
Inside my heart, above all the perspectives and views out there. I have strived to perceive the single truth. What was wrong and what was absolutely right about the altercation between Darren Wilson & Michael Brown? I have sought to discover the #1 issue and thus the #1 fix behind the Ferguson rioting as a result of the death of Michael Brown. But I found myself (once I started listening) realizing that this murder didn't just happen yesterday... Not in the hearts of the people of Ferguson or many of the cities surrounding Stl.
I have scanned Facebook and Google news feed. I have felt emotional, cried and prayed and then read more. I have endeavored to understand this situation from multiple perspectives. There is something a friend of mine said from a Martin Luther King Jr. Quote that brought me to a place to write this post. Martin Luther King Jr. Wrote in his speech "The Other America," "A riot is the language of the unheard."
Have I taken the time to listen to the unheard? I mean, in a sense they are being heard now... But have we truly tried to listen in times past? Are we so sure about being "truly right" because we see it so clearly from our comfortable perspective? I think the riots outrage us because they make us uncomfortable. They make us feel like we can't control what has been the norm for so long. We feel confused and it all stems from a perspective that isn't tapped into what the unheard are experiencing. What are they experiencing? Have you asked yourself this question?
Why are they so mad?
Why are they so hurt?
Why are they screaming murder, racism, racial profiling and police abuse of power?
Why would they scream this from the rooftops when we are so certain (from our perspective) that it isn't?
It's because as Lecrae so aptly put it, "This Ferguson case was a mascot for something much bigger. Something that people want to hope for. A dream. A dream that has been etched in our hearts for hundreds of years.
A dream yet unrealized." (Facebook status quote).
Now I want to state that I do not condone violence. I believe that laws are put into place to protect the general public and to prosper the society that our culture has fostered. But I never want the violence of a riot to be justification to not look behind the violence. Luther spoke on this by saying that
"a riot merely intensifies the fears of the white community while relieving the guilt." Of which I have witnessed. Those two things; fear and justification has yet again blinded our eyes from trying to see the situation from an unheard and deeply wounded perspective.
But what have we created and allowed to flourish within certain subcultures of our society? That is the unheard voice that the violence of Ferguson is trying to get the rest of the United States to hear. Perhaps it was a platform... But don't we all use certain times in our lives as platforms for change? This is no different. We cannot justify one platform while dismissing another. It is not that easy.
I won't apologize for being white. I won't apologize for being from Mexican descent and I don't expect a black person to apologize for being black either. I don't think that was Martin Luther King Jr's point at all. He believed in equality. A higher equality than just skin color. The equality that comes with being God's creation - all of us. But in Ferguson and in many other parts of the country that equality has not been realized. That was his point.
Being Christlike demands that we love. It demands that we carry the burdens of our brothers. To be uplifters to those weaker than us. It is a calling to call for justice and to liberate the oppressed. It is a calling to listen and hope and dream with those that are different than us. It is an appreciation for diversity while maintaining a single identity in Christ. Why is it so hard for us to put those kinds of callings into practice? So instead of becoming fearful of the uncomfortable noise that comes with fire and destruction. I ask you to listen. What are the flames of the unheard saying? Stop. Just listen. You will find your perspective quite changed and your heart deeply affected. Yes it is uncomfortable. Yes it is painful, but seeing outside yourself always is.
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28)
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