Race Relations 101:  Step 1 — Forgiveness

Black people absolutely LOVE to forgive people.  Hold up, let me back that up.  Black people absolutely LOVE to forgive white people.  It doesn’t matter what the violation a member of the dominant society can commit towards a member of Black society, Black people already have their forgiveness speeches ready to go.  White supremacy knows this & loves this.

When it comes to members of the dominant society who cause harm or death to a member of Black society in the name of white supremacy, the very first tactic those who practice white supremacy must do is to find at least one Black person who is ready to get on TV to forgive the offender.  When this Black person is found and given a little limelight on television, to the average American the message comes across as…

“Even though I’ve been through so much…the good Book says to forgive & I shall forgive (Ha-Lay-Loo-Yer).”

To the trained eye in Intelligent Black Society this is the real message being relayed…

“Alright now, since we in Black society do not have a solid economic base to serve as the first barrier of protection for Black society, the only thing I can do to help put these white folks at ease is to get on TV to forgive them to let the rest of these white folks know that we financially broke knee grows aren’t going to do anything to disrupt their system.  To the rest of you niggas out there watching me on TV, don’t you niggas go causing trouble now you here!”

Here’s the problem with these apologies:

Black society has been getting beat down so long by the varying forms of oppression for the last 400 years or so that the only thing some in Black society can do to minimize the blows is to forgive.  Some believe that by forgiving they can now move themselves into an elevated state where the action inflicted upon them by those who practice white supremacy can no longer weigh heavy on their hearts.  Reality is, no matter how much forgiveness one can give, the damage has already been done & being that Black society has no real economy to begin to offer stability & protection against those who practice white supremacy, the action can be repeated.  Forgiveness does not shield one from future harm.  It merely tells the offender that no matter what he may do in the future, these people will forgive me…so why not offend again, which they do.

I know some of you out there are thinking those old school thoughts of forgiveness meaning to let go of what happened & move on with your life.  But if a white supremacist harmed you or killed a member of your family, how in the world could you simply let that go considering that the offense was more than likely committed due to skin color?  I for one cannot forgive under circumstances like that because the offenses are non-stop going on 400 years now.  Every time we in Black society forgive, another white supremacists shows up to attempt to put us back in our place.  How can you forgive people like that when their whole mission is to see you exterminated?

Let me ask you this, when is the last time you heard of a Jewish person forgiving a Nazi?  Jewish people haven’t forgotten shit nor or they forgiving shit.  In fact, they build museums so you too shall not forget AND they continue to hunt down any surviving Nazis that may be out there.  So why must Black society be so forgiving?

Understand, not forgiving doesn’t imply that you walk around holding a grudge that emotionally & mentally drains you.  Not forgiving someone who violates a member of Black society simply due to the color of their skin means you are not giving up the only form of power you have over a white supremacist.  White supremacy & oppression are all about power.  Why give up the one thing you hold complete power over to somebody who wishes to eradicate you?