By Sam Frescoe
Welcome to the first installment of Sam Speaks. Sam Speaks
is an opportunity to endorse compelling thought and rebut stupidity. This forum
is dedicated to upholding thinking over feeling, self-control over tantrums,
and self-respect over self-loathing. I am your host, Sam Frescoe. I’m glad you’re
here!
--- WARNING ---
You are about to enter a “feelings endangerment zone”
currently occupied by a liberated, straight, white, God fearing, gun toting
expert marksman; an all American patriot. Be advised, it’s highly likely that he
doesn’t care about your feelings in any way.
--- WARNING ---
Getting Started
Did anyone see the 2016
BET Awards held on 26 June 2016? If the answer is no, then you are not
alone. I also had better things to do.
Has anyone seen or heard the Jesse
Williams speech given after he received the BET Humanitarian Award? If not,
then you’ve been living under a rock. I must admit that I was not that far from
under when I noticed my entire web media horizon was filled with this speech.
It was everywhere; from Fox News to MSNBC, from People to Salon, and all points
in between. The next morning I got to read about it on the front, second, and
fourth pages of the newspaper. Then, one click later, I was neck deep in the
mire.
Framing
The BET Humanitarian Award is an annual award presented by
BET during a televised event. To the best of my knowledge the honor has no
formal criteria; therefore, is nothing more than a fancy trophy. (I must admit
that, as entertainment-based awards go, it does look good and seems to be well
crafted.) Jesse Williams was selected by BET “for his work in fighting for
equal rights” and his “support of the Black Lives Matter movement.”
Jesse Williams is an actor and producer best known for his
role on Grey’s Anatomy. He is regularly described as an equal rights activist
and champion of black culture in America.
The Speech
The scene is typical of most entertainment award shows.
There is a stage, podium, mics, lights, music and sound, a script, and an array
of well-dressed hosts and hostesses. Mr. Williams is introduced in typical
fashion as he arrives on stage; and then, accepts the trophy with the standard
smile-and-shake procedure. The gathered audience quiets; Williams addresses the
microphone; and then, an explosion!
My first impression of amazement bordering on disbelief.
Here stood an incredibly successful American man, a master of his craft,
standing at the top of a very exclusive industry, filled with rage. It was
completely unexpected. Upon finishing the video, I started it again for a
second viewing.
My second impression transitioned from disbelief to
disappointment. Until this point in my life, I had not seen a grown man throw
such an amazingly well rehearsed temper tantrum. Even though I was watching a masterful
performance of a professional actor playing his assigned part (that of a 3 year
old trapped in a Millennial’s body), I could not ignore the tragedy being laid
before me; an American man of wide cultural influence fully embraced
viciousness in the name of self-righteousness.
Sam Speaks
Begin transcript.
This award, this is not for me.
This is for the real organizers all over the country.
This is for the real organizers all over the country.
Okay. I see an attempt at
humility. It’s clearly fake; but, it’s an attempt just the same. Perhaps he
will pass the trophy to those that have earned it; being that it’s not for him
and (by his own admission) he is not a real organizer.
The activists, the civil rights attorneys,
the struggling parents, the families, the teachers, the students, that are
realizing that a system built to divide and impoverish and destroy us cannot
stand if we do.
To better frame the scope of the
speech I’m going to assume, based on the fact that it’s a BET event, terms like
“us” and “we” refer to black Americans in general. I’m going to further assume,
by his use of “us”, that he considers himself a member of that group.
He used “realizing” as a verb (meaning
to recognize, understand, or comprehend) in conjunction with “system” as a noun.
So, if a system “built to divide and impoverish and destroy” black Americans can
be recognized, understood, or comprehended; then I have some questions.
- What activities, actions, decision, etc. are being realized by black Americans?
- What is the system that is dividing, impoverishing, and destroying black Americans?
As you might imagine I’m now
waiting with some excitement; however, severely reserved. After all, here
stands an actor raging about the oppression of Americans. Surely, he wouldn’t
possibly hand out a rash of self-righteous crap about the inability of other
Americans to realize the same.
It's kind of basic mathematics, the more we
learn about who we are and how we got here, the more we will mobilize.
Okay! Now you’re talking.
Realizing the oppressive system is question is akin to the objective nature of
mathematics. – Nope!
He wants you and me to believe
that his opinion of an ever-present and oppressive system of black American
oppression is as certain as 2+2=4. And, that this self-proclaimed fact is
conclusively based on the entirety of black history in America.
Perhaps it would be worth getting
the opinions of General Powell, Secretary Rice, or Justice Thomas?
Finally, he wants you and me to
believe that no other rational conclusion (different than his own) could
manifest itself.
Who is teaching what to whom and
for what purpose? – If it’s education, then why not check the work of other
historians?
Now this is also in particular for the
black women, in particular, who have spent their lifetimes dedicated to
nurturing everyone before themselves.
Wait a minute!
Which “particular” black women? –
I assume you are not referring to those on the nightly news speaking out about
oppression as part of their salary jobs; or, those waiting in the Social Security
lobby demanding entitlements while picking their professionally manicured nails.
Just how are you able to speak
out against oppressive conditions (much less even realize those conditions
exist at all, objectively or subjectively) when there is a system is designed
to “divide and impoverish and destroy” black Americans?
We can and will do better for you.
What are you saying?
Is nurturing others ahead of
themselves not virtuous in of itself?
Why do black mothers need you and
others to legitimize their effort?
What do you owe to black mothers
because they choose to nurture others?
Now what we've been doing is looking at the
data and we know that police somehow manage to de-escalate, disarm and not kill
white people every day.
My ears are perking up again.
Data! – Cite something. Anything. – Dang.
And, now to re-attack the same
hill…again…you want me to believe that police are somehow NOT managing to
de-escalate, disarm and not kill black people every day?
Mr. Williams, please check your
black privilege before you say anymore.
How long have you been a
police-ophobe (someone that suffers from cop-ophobia, an irrational fear of law
enforcement officers properly doing their job)?
A statement such as this, without presentation of evidence, is highly prejudice
against police officers as a whole, including black police officers.
So what's going to happen is we are going
to have equal rights and justice in our own country or we will restructure
their function and ours.
Got it! You want your own country.
– Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Oh…and…have a safe and comfortable
journey.
If your statement is taken as a
premise, then there is no room for good faith negotiation. You’re saying it’s
going to be the black way or no way at all. This is a war footing. How far are
you willing to go?
- What are equal rights?
- What is justice?
- Which country is your own country?
- What is the function of the police?
- What is the function of black Americans?
Yesterday would’ve been young Tamir Rice’s
14th birthday, so I don’t want to hear any more about how far we’ve come when
paid public servants can pull a drive-by on a 12-year-old playing alone in a
park in broad daylight, killing him on television then going home to make a
sandwich.
An expression of grief and mourning
for the loss of a child, in my view, is virtuous and well-founded. To invoke
“look at how far we’ve come” in conjunction with the untimely death of a human
being is dishonorable. The objective value of a person’s existence far exceeds
the subjective value of a generality.
Tell Rekia Boyd how it’s so much better to
live in 2012 than 1612 or 1712.
Tell that to Eric Garner.
Tell that to Sandra Bland.
Tell that to Darrien Hunt.
Tell that to Eric Garner.
Tell that to Sandra Bland.
Tell that to Darrien Hunt.
Tamir Rice (12-yrs): Died of
gunshot wounds delivered by two law enforcement officers after “reaching
towards a gun in his waistband.” The gun was an Airsoft replica lacking the
orange feature marking it as a replica. A grand jury declined to indict.[1]
– Having been on both sides of the gun, I agree with the grand jury.
Rekia Boyd, a 22-year-old woman,
was fatally shot on March 21, 2012, in Chicago, Illinois, by Dante Servin, an
off-duty Chicago police detective. In November 2013, Servin was charged with
involuntary manslaughter, but was cleared of all charges on April 20, 2015, by
Judge Dennis J. Porter in a rare directed verdict.[2]
– This one stinks! Technicalities are the first refuge of scoundrels.
On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner
died in Staten Island, New York City, after an NYPD officer put him in what has
been described as a chokehold for about 15 to 19 seconds while arresting him. NYPD
officers approached Garner on suspicion of selling single cigarettes from packs
without tax stamps. The grand jury decided on December 3 not to indict.[3]
– I view this as a likely miscarriage of justice. A man was killed over a
matter that could have easily been addressed with kind words and a paper
citation.
Sandra Bland was a 28-year-old
black woman who was found hanged in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas, on
July 13, 2015. An autopsy conducted by the Harris County medical examiner ruled
Bland's death a suicide and said it found no evidence of a violent struggle. In
December 2015, a grand jury declined to issue an indictment. However, the
arresting officer was disciplined and later dismissed for failure to follow
procedures governing the traffic stop that involved Bland; and later, her
arrest for assaulting a police officer. [4]
– A tragedy, but not a murder.
Darrien Hunt, a 22-year-old black
man was killed by police. An attorney for the man’s family alleged that he was
shot repeatedly from behind by officers while running away. Two police officers
who were responding to a 911 call reporting a man with a samurai-style sword
acting suspiciously.[5]
– I don’t have enough understanding of the case to support a position on this
incident.
Can you demonstrate that you have
not stacked the evidence to your favor? Can you name similar incidents with
non-black victims?
Now the thing is though, all of us in here
getting money, that alone isn’t going to stop this. Now dedicating our lives to
get money just to give it right back for someone’s brand on our body, when we
spent centuries praying with brands on our bodies and now we pray to get paid
for brands on our bodies.
And the tantrum continues. – Enough
with the metaphors and coded imagery.
What do you mean by “someone’s brand on our body”?
- Who owns black Americans?
- Why do black Americans consent to being owned?
What do you mean by “praying with brands on our bodies”?
- To what is the spirit of black Americans bound?
- Who is the master of your soul?
What do you mean by “now we pray to get paid for brands on
our bodies”? – Same questions.
Do you hate the fundamental nature of the United States of
America and the American way of life? Do you understand, it is that very way of
life that allows you to speak at will and as you please?
There has been no war that we have not
fought and died on the front lines of.
This is a true statement.
There has been no job we haven't done,
there's been no tax they haven't levied against us, and we've paid all of them.
This is a true statement.
But freedom is somehow always conditional
here, 'You’re free,’ they keep telling us, ‘But she would’ve been alive if she
hadn’t acted so… free'.
What?! It appears that you are
free to speak as you please (even in a private venue while using private
property). – So much for “us” being captive.
Just who do you believe you are?
How are you qualified in any way to stand on the graves of the honored dead,
American warriors, and declare with your black-civilian-actor-celebrity mouth
that the total of their lives were stolen for the sake of vanity.
I do not know your true
intentions, or your fundamental desires, but I do know this about you. You are
vicious, immoral, and ungrateful man.
While you are free to choose your
course of action, you are not free to choose the consequences. – Acting without
care (cause) does not inherently mean that one can opt out of someone else
caring (effect).
Freedom is always coming in the hereafter, but,
you know what though, the hereafter is a hustle.
Same tree, different branch. – I
pray that God judges you with favor and grace underserved, if it is right for
Him to do so.
We want it now.
Alright, young man! Go stand in
the corner. Move it!
And let's get a couple of things straight,
just a little side note, the burden of the brutalized is not to comfort the
bystander. That's not our job, stop with all that.
Is this an accurate translation?
The load represented by those dehumanized does not exist to pacify onlookers. –
If this is what you meant, then I agree.
If you have a critique for the resistance,
our resistance, then you better have an established record of critique of our
oppression.
Got it! You are a rebel leader of
a resistance. Excellent! I like the fighting spirit. – Who is the enemy, what
are they doing, and why should I care?
The phrase “…then you better…” as
used in your statement, amounts to picking a fight.
- What happens when someone throws that gauntlet back?
- When do you believe violence is justified?
- How far are you willing to go?
If you have no interest in equal rights for
black people then do not make suggestions to those who do. Sit down.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat
to justice everywhere,” Martin Luther King, Jr.
I’ll pick that up. – My genuine
interest is the protection of personal liberty for all Americans. To that end,
I want to know which American rights are not being accorded to black Americans;
and then, stand with those that are equally opposed.
Your turn. – Which American rights are not being accorded to
black Americans?
We’ve been floating this country on credit
for centuries, and we’re done watching and waiting while this invention called
whiteness uses and abuses us, burying black people out of sight and out of
mind, while extracting our culture, our dollars, our entertainment like oil,
black gold.
There it is! The leopard has
shone its spots. And, it looks like “whiteness.” – If whiteness is an invention
(a noun), then it can be defined. What is the definition of whiteness?
“Burying black people out of
sight and out of mind.”
- Are you saying black Americans don’t have a voice?
- Blacks are hidden? Where? How?
- Blacks aren’t provided a choice?
- Buried by who, and for what reason? If the grievance is so severe, then why do blacks participate?
“extracting our culture” – That’s
enough bull shit to fertilize all of the Midwest six feet thick!
- How can what is openly shared be unjustly extracted?
- What portion of black culture is so exclusive to blacks regardless of circumstance?
“our dollars” – Extracting money
from people requires agreement and/or use of force. How is this a problem
exclusive to black Americans?
Ghettoizing and demeaning our creations
then stealing them, gentrifying our genius and then trying us on like costumes
before discarding our bodies like rinds of strange fruit.
Who builds ghettos? – Answer:
Those that decree it to be built, and those that agree to build it. – Notice
that the answer is not whiteness.
Who demeans (belittles,
humiliates, degrades)? – Hint: The act of demeaning is not exclusive to
whiteness.
How do you explain the contributions
of blacks to America’s social institutions such as music, sports, civil rights,
military service, and medicine? – If whiteness is to blame, then on behalf of
white America, you’re welcome.
The thing is, just because we’re magic,
doesn’t mean we’re not real.
Hey! No one is denying your existence.
End transcript.
Recapping
Given all that was said and done, what was actually said and
done?
I’ve heard angry words that raged against the oppression of
black Americans. I’ve heard the belittlement of motherhood and an apology for
the assumed shortfall of blacks in general. I’ve heard legitimately unjust particulars
leveraged to make righteous intent to destroy American history, principles, and
arrangements. I’ve heard blame attached to whites, police officers in their
entirety, presumed intent, the long-time dead, political leaders at every
level, the American way of life, the existence of the United States, and even
God Himself. All of this was done to illustrate the existence of a “system
built to divide and impoverish and destroy” black Americans. All of this was
shouted above the thunder of standing applause, real and virtual.
Where was the difference given to good and bad, right and
wrong, grace and evil, virtue and vicious? Where was the effort to state that human
injustice is a human failing?
Mr. Williams, what do you and those you claim to represent
want? What, exactly, do black Americans want from history, government, and
country; from whites, cops, parents, ancestors, politicians, the dead, and God?
– Regardless of the answers, why do you choose to think the way you think, or
believe the way you believe?
Jesse Williams
You did it. You identified the
system of oppression built to “divide and impoverish and destroy” black
Americans.
The oppressive system you want us
to “realize” is not rooted in “whiteness” or a grievance-by-hatred industry. These
things, however real or imagined, are symptoms of a deeper root cause. A cause
that has evolved into a foundational idea, a golden rule; to be a virtuous
“black” individual, one must first be vicious to the “white” collective.
While I do not know your true
intentions, or your fundamental beliefs, I do know these things about you. You
are a grown man, a brilliant talent, and gifted orator. There is no doubt that
these gifts are inherent within you and add to you uniqueness. I also know that
you are choosing to be a vicious, immoral, and ungrateful racist.
BET
Nicely played. You couldn’t have
provided a better advertisement opportunity for Jesse Williams, Black Lives
Matter, or yourself. I am truly impressed. Despite the blatant race-based
hatred being puked out to the world through your platform, you managed to stay
clean.
- I am particularly impressed with the lightning speed that the speech penetrated the internet.
- I am particularly impressed with how well the vast majority of media outlets used identical, or nearly identical, terms and syntax to describe the speech.
You have effectively used free
speech as a weapon system against the human capacity to do what is inherently
good. Enjoy the paycheck.
Media Outlets
Providing the benefit of the doubt,
you were duped by a narcissistic racist that was sponsored by an organized
conglomerate of narcissistic businessmen. In doing so, you failed to do your
duty as an American institution specifically protected to act as the “check and
balance” of American discourse.
You sold out for money. There is no
reason for your failure, just excuses.
The Public
You are not blameless. Not even
close. The only reason the social institution of the media can do this is
because you, the consuming public, allow it to be profitable.
Stupidity, like wisdom, is built on
choices made over an extended period of time. In my view, it seems clear that
you have a long history of making stupid choices.
In Closing
There are two realities of human life. Both are ever-present
simply because human nature and human beings exist in this world. The two
unavoidable realities are “that which is good” and “that which is evil.” My
intent in posing the questions stated was to determine which reality was being
sought; one that is good, or one that is evil. I am astonished by how fully “that
which is evil” has been embraced by those that claim to know better.
Viciousness is a human failing; but, virtue is a human
triumph. Both are ever-present simply because human beings exist. Both
represent the desire of human nature to cultivate thoughts, make decisions, and
take action on those decisions. But, it’s not human nature to puts failings and
triumphs into the world; it’s individual human beings.
In my view, for an America to achieve unity without
mandating uniformity in a way sustainable by human nature it’s incumbent upon
each American citizen, regardless of their circumstances (transient or fixed,
real or virtual, natural or supernatural), to choose the virtuous path.
Thank you. – Sam Frescoe
Your View
Your thoughts and perspectives are important. I invite you
to tell me what you believe in the comments section below or at samfrescoe@gmail.com. I am looking
forward to reading your thoughts, ideas, and opinions.
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