Much has been made in regards to the magnanimous gesture made by the families of the nine massacred members of Emmanuel AME church in Charleston; they immediately forgave the villainous, sick racist that took their beloved family members from them, even though he didn’t ask for their forgiveness. Their generosity is being hailed and characterized as a very noble gesture. But was it?
Other voices, while not quite calling for retaliatory justice, are now suggesting that as long as blacks continue to be so quick to forgive they actually encourage more violence against the race. Some posit that the act of forgiving will not shield them from further violence, but, indeed, will only encourage more of it by other white racists.
Should forgiveness be reserved for only the truly contrite, changed person?
“An eye for an eye” or the “law of retaliation” has to a degree been defamed. It’s viewed as a measure that would, in the end, leave everyone blind; therefore it’s better to learn to forgive. But can there be another interpretation: That it prevents one person from blinding another for fear of being blinded themselves? In other words, does this dictum create a “Mexican standoff” of sorts, where one person (or group) does not harm another, not out of pureness of heart, but out of fear of retribution?
The Israelis are masters of this survivalist tactic — hit them and they will hit back. Hard.
While America applauds Charleston blacks for their willingness to forgive this vermin, I don’t recall America expressing any such forgiving sentiments towards ISIS beheadings, nor towards any other of our enemies, real or perceived.
The brave Christian families in Charleston certainly are not to be denigrated for their act of forgiveness, but how much of their willingness to be so generous so swiftly can be traced back generations — back to the time when slaves were taught to forgive their white masters, no matter the depth of depravity heaped on their heads?
Blacks in America — for centuries — were taught to “grin and bear it,” to not express anger or outrage (no matter the indignities perpetrated upon them) lest they be punished for it. They were taught — via the Christian bible they were given once their natural religions were beat out of them — that this was the natural order of things; that this kind of brutal treatment is what they deserved. It says right there in the bible that slaves should obey their masters.
In some ways it’s similar to some blacks’ affinity for what is called “slave food” — the chittlins, hog maws and pig’s feet — they were forced to eat or go hungry; they couldn’t eat “high on the hog” … they weren’t allowed to taste the ham and bacon they so lovingly prepared for the slave masters, so they came to relish the leftovers after the slaughter, they came to love and appreciate the entrails of the animals and eventually learn to say “Mm, mm good!”
Via a religion that was foreign to them upon arriving upon these shores, blacks were made docile, accepting of their fate — and those who protested and attempted to maintain their dignity and personhood were beaten until they complied or until they died.
During those dark days the one thing whites would never, ever tolerate from a black was a display of anger. And so, to this very day, black anger frightens white folks … unnerves and offends them. When President Obama used the “N” word to quietly express his anger outrage at the killings, it made front-page news.
It very well could be that the black families of the tragic victims in Charleston so quickly forgave a white man because they had no choice. They’ve been taught that they dare not get mad at a white man — no matter how heinous he might act.
This is part of white privilege in America — to constantly be forgiven over and over.
From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://NeighborhoodSolutionsInc.com.