Stockholm syndrome, or capture-bonding, is a psychological phenomenon in which hostages express empathy and sympathy and have positive feelings toward their captors, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with them. These feelings are generally considered irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims, who essentially mistake a lack of abuse from their captors for an act of kindness.
I was listening to my favorite radio station KISS-98.7 recently and a caller who went by the name of Mike called in to give his opinion of the non-indictment of Darren Wilson. I was thinking to myself “Oh yes finally someone will speak on this joke of a justice system”, but quickly found myself shocked, but not surprised. He went on a long rant about “black on black crime”, “education”, “parenting”, you know the typical go to talking points of conservatives and self-hating black folk. Once again the focus was not placed where needed, but on the so-called issues with black folks. Every time someone of color is victimized, profiled, harassed, and or killed by policemen/women who are suppose to serve and protect, it is somehow OUR fault. It was Sean Bell’s fault he reached for his wallet in such a threatening manner. It was Oscar Grant’s fault he was shot because the officer mistook a gun for a taser. It was Errol Shaw’s fault he was deaf and couldn’t hear the commands of the officer. I could go on forever, but realize we as a people are lost. Instead of focusing on the fact that our black brothers and sisters are being killed by those who are sworn to protect, we ourselves somehow justify these actions by blaming ourselves. Yes, there is black on black crime, I get it, but there is also white on white crime. Whenever there is a mass murder committed on a subway by whites are they told to focus on white on white crime? Whenever there is a school shooting killing innocent children, is the focus on white on white crime? Whenever a devoted wife is killed for a insurance policy, is white on white crime a talking point? Whenever trillions of dollars are stolen from the American people on Wall Street, do we focus on white on white crime? What amazes me the most is that my people soak this up as the gospel. IT IS NOT OUR FAULT! We are taught in order to rise above poverty education is needed. I have TWO degrees and have been unemployed since May. Thank God I have a supportive husband that keeps us afloat. We are taught that if we just vote things will change. I, myself and millions of others voted in record numbers for a president who promised change. Black & brown women and men are now worse off under this presidency than Bush, and that’s saying a lot. We are taught over and over again that somehow ITS OUR FAULT! I’ve played by the rules and somehow can’t see the light of day. I’ve voted for ten years now, I furthered my education for ten years now. I’ve payed my taxes for years now. Something just isn’t adding up. Knowledge is power, and I agree. I’ve come to learn that being black our lives are not valued. Notice how so much focus is on “looting and destruction” in Ferguson vs the fact that a young man was killed. Property has more value than blacks. Sure those businesses can rebuild, but can Mike Brown take another breath. Since when is a tangible item more important than a living breathing human being? We are told to just move on, justice was served. Our President addressed the nation stating that we should ACCEPT the verdict. No Mr. President, I won’t accept it. How dare you tell us that illegal activities won’t be tolerated when you yourself just gave five million law breakers amnesty. Are the Jews told to just move on? What about the Japanese? 400 years of slavery, years upon years of Jim Crow laws and we are told that once again its our fault and we should just move on. Knowledge is power. Why do blacks require a “Leader” in order for our voices to be heard? Where are the white leaders? What about the Hispanic, Japanese, Korean, Indian leaders? Ever heard of them, yeah me either. Why do we need some middle man to speak on our behalf? We are all LEADERS. Knowledge is power. Slavery isn’t over its just in a modern day form, PRISON. You want to talk about black crimes, lets chat. Lets talk about the fact that 86% of the black prison population are serving time because of the so-called war on drugs. Thats right smoking/selling a plant, non-violent crimes, buts thats something most will never know because crime is crime right. There are some that may not like marijuana, and its understandable, but why must millions of black americans suffer because a handful don’t. Bankers stole millions of dollars from the people and received bail-outs, a young black/brown man smokes a blunt and is serving life in prison in California. We are suppose to be a country of freedom yet the majority of its citizens are behind bars. 86% non-violent crimes, appalling I know. Mrs. McSpadden, I’m sorry. Mrs. Martin, I’m sorry. Mrs. Bell, I’m sorry. My heart bleeds for you. I know that these are just words but I hope that some of what was stated will ease the pain. I realize that most of Black America suffers from Stockholm Syndrome, but know that there are a large amount of us who can call a spade a spade!
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