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Editorials/Columns
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Letter To The Editor
‘Temper Your Words - Soften Your Hearts - All of Us’
aybe you have not
thought about the rhetoric that we person- ally spill out, especially in figures of speech and often just being plain old
opinionated.
The President, Barack
Obama calls on America to avoid devised rhetoric. He urged Americans to focus on words and ac- tions that can unite this country, rather than di- vide it.
Our beloved President stated,” we don’t need in- flammatory rhetoric, we don’t need careless accu-
sations thrown around to score political points or to advance an agenda. We need to temper our words and open our hearts - all of us.”
Here in Tampa as well as other parts of the coun- try, we must consider our first line of defense against criminals and ter- rorists. When in fear and facing danger, who do you call?
The local policemen and the local sheriff offi- cers who risk their lives and protect civilians they do no not know. Each
time they report to work their loved ones pray for their safety and their safe return to them.
Being a cop is a de- manding job, they must demonstrate skill of com- petence at all times, sup- pressing their fears, suppressing their anger and suppressing their compassion.
Let us honor the fallen and support those that are still standing and serving.
“Temper your words – soften your hearts - all 0f us.”
WILBERT MALPHUS
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C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. 1930-2010 (1977)
Don’t Even Think About Not Voting In 2016
nd that means all of us who are eligible and able.
Not voting in the 2016 elections is a vote, sure enough, for the Republicans’ “”Mad-Hatter” himself, Donald Trump. While some members of the Bush fam- ily have publicly sworn off participating in the 2016 GOP circus-event and will not vote for Donald Trump, or anyone at all, we Black folks don’t have that luxury.
But understand, using the lives of Black men killed by law enforcement officers during the past 18 months as an excuse not to vote does our lives a grave disserv- ice. In fact, voting would be a way to honor the memory of our fallen brothers.
While protesting their deaths is a way to draw atten- tion to the danger Black men face when interacting with law enforcement (and too often with their own cohorts), voting against political candidates who either have crit- icized peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters, or who have conspicuously not commented on the need to ad- dress the disproportionate dispatch of Black men sends a message clear and concrete.
Yes, we understand that the continuing marginaliza- tion of Black folks socially, economically, and lawfully makes us lose confidence in the American justice sys- tem. But we must play a crucial role in removing politi- cians who refuse to act or pass legislation that reflects the best interests of Black people, women, and other mi- norities. Indeed, Black voters, in a dead heat, decided the presidential, state, and local elections in 2008 and 2012, did you know?
Therefore, not to vote in 2016 is a vote to continue business as usual. Consequently, if you are not regis- tered to vote, REMEMBER, YOU CAN REGISTER TO VOTE ONLINE. SO, REGISTER ON OR BEFORE AU- GUST 1st.
Don’t meet us there. Beat us there!
Black Spring
don't think it would be a stretch right now to as- sume that we're witnessing the beginning stages of some kind of war. The strategic at- tacks that have occurred against members of law en- forcement in places like Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, and now Baton Rouge, Louisiana all appear to point to the existence of an organ- ized retaliatory movement. One that could have been in- spired by the souring rela- tionship between the Black community and police de- partments across the coun-
try.
If this is the case, that
translates into the possibility of this being America's worse nightmare coming to fruition. The predominately Black proletariat, that was banished to the lowest rung of society, striking back vio- lently against the authorita- tive force that was designed for the sole purpose of keep- ing it in its lowly place.
The powers-that-be could- n't have seen this coming. After years of using religion, Jim Crow laws, mass-incar-
ceration, narcotics, manufac- tured viruses and psycholog- ical warfare through mediums such as music, tel- evision and music to manip- ulate the collective thought process, they probably fig- ured everything was on cruise control.
But, with the brazen acts of aggression being perpe- trated by people who, they believed, had long lost their will to fight, the realization is starting to set in that an un- expected change has oc- curred... The seeds of the sleeping giant are refusing lay idle like their slumbering parent.
The generation of young people responsible for the demonstrations we're now seeing taking place aren't like those who came before them. Their minds aren't shackled by the biblical mandates that caused their predecessors to embrace passivity.
This is a different breed. To this young flock, ideals like "Turning the other cheek," "loving thy Neigh- bor," and "forgiving your enemy" are vomit inducing.
While they come from the same bloodline, their DNA seems to have retained more memory from our pre-slav- ery ancestral stock. They are the living manifestation of a rebellious Kunta Kinte to our obedient Toby.
These are the individuals who are leading the charge of defiance. The children who grew up watching their mothers and grandmothers pray, but who never saw things get any better, have decided to take matters into their own hands.
The one-way tickets to the revolution that we were scared to purchase because we hoped that marching, singing and begging would one day bring us mercy, they're buying those in bulk. And, at this point, whether you believe that's a good thing or not, there is really nothing we can do to slow them down.
If you were never able to visualize change, this is what it looks like in all of its dis- turbing glory. And, since every action generates an equal or greater reaction, don't be surprised when, in the coming months, the situ- ation becomes even messier.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can TEXT C.B., II, at (+18133080849).
A Timely Community Forum: Keeping It Real
nce more, members of Tampa’s Pastors-on-Patrol
and especially Rev. James Favorite of Beulah Bap- tist Church are to be commended for stepping up to the plate, last Thursday and hitting a homerun that allowed people from all walks of life to congregate and discuss meaningfully the issues that have brought America to a racial boiling point. What began as a slow warming process with politicians, professionals, public citizens and passersby filtering in soon became a forum where words flew and tempers sometimes needed to be reined in like horses on a race track.
But the hosts prefaced this historical meeting (brought to bear because of the violence in Baton Rouge, Minnesota, and Dallas) with a polite request for solutions rather than speeches. They got both. A black-
clad member of Black Lives Matter immediately made herself heard when she over spoke her five minutes only to storm out of the meeting then storm back in again to sparse applause.
But she was followed by speakers who did indeed, bear solutions . . . who sincerely suggested local police reinstate previously popular police-community workshops, that officers be vetted psychologically then trained relentlessly before and during their stay on the force, and finally that the “no snitch” unwritten rule be removed from po- lice as it is removed from the public.
A white businessman stood and demanded Mayor Bob Buckhorn change his prior- ities from things like the Downtown Boardwalk to Black Lives Matter, while citizens lined up to speak and State Attorney Mark Ober passionately implored, “When you talk to me, I want to know you respect me and treat me with dignity.” Many others also spoke . . . about “deep listening,” and “direct action.”
Then, came “Fighting Joe” Robinson. He stood and said, “I’m keeping it real.” And so he did. And so we all did. God bless us, and God heal Tampa-Hillsborough County, one and all.
TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2016 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5
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