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As perfect as perfect can be...
H/T to Rippa for this shit:
Wonder how many white families have to "instruct" their kids to meekly stand fast, control themselves and not say shit to cops - except, "Yes sir," "No sir," "Three bags full sir" - just to be treated with dignity and respect. How many white families have to go through that, "If you're stopped by a policeman, put both hands on the wheel, make no sudden movements and be polite" primer? And we wonder, what's up with OUR children?
They don't respect US because, since Dr. King walked this earth, we have not been, and still are not "responsible for what we know to be true about our existence in this country" (a favorite and true Baldwinism) - and they know it. They look to us to protect them but see - every day, in every way - how we can't. And we, conscious of our own ineptitude, more often than not, blame - THEM! - for not being "perfect."
I have to admit that I'm as guilty as the next Black parent who - "gets" - that anything less might get them hurt - or worse. Feeling ever powerless (particularly here, in the belly of the beast) in our "post-racial" nation, I have to keep telling my sons they have to be "perfect," or deal with the consequences (both financial and judicial) that the White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy generously doles out without blinking - leaving a trail that will follow them for the rest of their lives.
It's 20-damn-10, there's a society-identified Black man in the Big House ("fulfillment" of Dr. King's dream my ass!) AND a Black Attorney General - and still, the beat goes on...
