If there's one thing I've learned in my teaching career, it's that when people lash out at authority or act in destructive ways, there's always an underlying cause. You have to get to the root of the action and work to fix that. If you just address the action, nothing will be achieved. And if you don't listen, TRULY listen, to another person, you definitely won't.
We have a long history of institutionalized racism in this country, and it affects every aspect of our lives, whether we realize it or not. It's in our work places, our politics, our schools, and our police forces. This is what we need to be looking at.
So listen. Turn off the mainstream media (that includes Fox) and seek out other voices. Listen to what they are saying, because I guarantee you, the frustration and anger runs deep, and rightfully so. Read books and articles written by people different than you. Get outside of your comfort zone and challenge yourself to actually empathize with the anger and frustration.
And if you find yourself more outraged at a CVS being burned down than a man's spine being severed, that says a lot as well.
I couldn't agree with you more. It is problematic when a CVS burning to the ground is called "violence" and the act of severing a man's spine is called "an unfortunate incident".
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