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Sitting On The Vaccine Fence
s of right now I have yet
to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Even though a good friend of mine, who is a phar- macist, has lectured to me about how safe it is and a num- ber of my associates have got- ten their doses, I still don't feel comfortable enough with the product to line up for a needle injection.
I am sure that one day the government will find a way to force my hand, most likely by withholding something I des- perately need until I submit. But, until then, I'm prepared to keep rolling the dice with my health while banking on being protected by herd im-
munity.
Is my gamble a little risky?
Probably. But to me it's better than the alternative, allowing an unproven medication to be placed inside of my body and eventually joining a class-ac- tion lawsuit 20 years from now when it's discovered that one of the ingredients involved in the drug-making process caused people to go blind, lose their hearing or grow fish tails (that last one is highly un- likely. But you get the point).
I know the position I'm tak- ing makes it sound as if I've lost my mind to conspiracy theories and I'm sure it won't make me the most popular
person within medical circles. But, the fact of the matter is, I just don't trust that anything being widely dispersed freely could be beneficial to the human populace when every- thing else that's been offered has, mostly, worked against us.
I mean, I could be wrong and my hesitancy and suspicious- ness could be rooted in unwar- ranted paranoia. But shouldn't the idea that several different labs were able to come up with a cure so quickly, for a conta- gion only discovered 16 months ago, make anyone with common sense at least a little skeptical?
Of course, there's always the possibility that individuals like myself are simply making closet monsters out of shad- ows. But I'm sure time will surely tell.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can email Mr. Barr at: cbscribe2@- gmail.com.
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HBCU’s And The NFL Draft
veryone is talking about the fact that there were no
Historically Black College and University (HBCU) players selected in the 2021 National Football League (NFL) Draft. According to one source, 2021 marks the ninth time since 2000 there have been no players selected from HBCUs.
This year follows the 2020 NFL draft when only one
HBCU player was drafted. Each of the nine drafts reminds the “Old timers” of the NFL drafts in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s when there were either none or only token Blacks drafted by NFL teams.
Could the problem be that larger and more prestigious schools are drafting more Black high school standouts using more lucrative options? Could it be that high school coaches are steering the best Black football players to the larger and more prestigious schools?
Or could Blacks suddenly have lost their ability to play football well? Whatever are the reasons, HBCUs need more exposure and more visits by football scouts, some of whom don’t even bother to look at HBCU campuses.
Given the HBCU history of having at one time com- prised over 70% of NFL rosters; having had 10% of the in- ductees into the Football Hall of Fame and having had 32 players drafted in 2016 by three major teams, Washington Redskins, Indianapolis Colts, and the Los Angeles Rams, you would think the place of HBCUs as draft sources would be secure.
Maybe there is a role churches, HBCU alumni and the community can play in promoting HBCUs among Black High School students.
Indeed, Florida high school freshmen and juniors need to hear about HBCUs other than Bethune-Cookman and Florida A and M University. Alumni of HBCUs in Tampa should consider working together to get high school football players to recognize the value of HBCUs in their education.
After all, what do we tell our children when they say they are interested in pursuing collegiate and professional football, but their interests do not include HBCUs? We need to speak up and support our heritage, even on the football field.
The Great African American Dilemma
hile watching the re-
cent trial of former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, for the death of George Floyd, and reflecting on the numerous modern day instances of Blacks dying unjustly at the hands of those charged with protecting us, I began to won- der if we will ever realize Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream that we will one day be judged by the content of our character rather than the color
of our skin.
Seeing the numerous po-
licemen testifying against one of their own gave me a smidgeon of hope. But right in the midst of the trial and even since, we have seen even more unjust killings of Blacks by the police.
So my doubts continue to exist. Each day I watch the news hesitantly out of fear that somewhere in this great coun- try of ours, another Black life has been taken unnecessarily at the hands of someone in au- thority. I hasten to add that I,
as do I believe most African Americans, would not want to live in a society void of law en- forcement and I firmly believe that most officers are good and decent people that are com- mitted to protecting all people equally and will attempt to deescalate potentially volatile situations.
But some are not good and they frequently abuse African Americans. This rogue few gives a bad name to the many causing some of us to distrust all policemen. And so it is still necessary for Blacks to have discussions with our children about how to conduct them- selves when they have an en- counter with the police.
The Black Lives Matter Movement has done an out- standing job in raising public awareness about such injus- tices. Kudos to them! But these recent shootings demonstrate that there is still much work to be done in our quest for equal justice.
There are no degrees of dead. A Black person killed by
another Black is just as dead as one killed by a member of law enforcement and the families are equally devastated by such loss of life.
This brings me to our dilemma: how to solve the issue of Blacks needlessly dying at the hands of the police and what is the solution to too many of us senselessly killing one another? Black life has been taken unnecessarily at the hands of you guessed it, another African American. We must find effective solutions to both of the above issues.
Recently, some of our local leaders held a rally to bring at- tention to this Black on Black issue. But the problem is too great for a single rally and re- quires an effort equal to or greater than the Black Lives Matter Movement. The solu- tion first begins at home, dur- ing a child’s formative years with parents providing proper guidance and modeling appro- priate behavior for their chil- dren; but, the entire community must get involved; churches, schools and all other appropriate community groups.
The overwhelming major- ity of African Americans are hardworking, good and decent people who do all in their power to provide a safe, nur- turing environment for them- selves and their families. But, like with the police, the rogue few gives a bad name to the many. Just another view.
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