riots and black lives

The condition of the black community is of importance to me. I became intimate with their environment, over the course of eight years as a volunteer instructor/facilitator for sentenced men at the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh, PA. During the current orgy of mass violence, burning and looting in response to the killing of George Floyd and the odious virtue signaling by whites the true, documented, undeniable reality of murder in the black community has been suppressed, ignored and discounted. Their terror, misery and death is of little import compared to the accolades heaped upon those engaging in so much destruction of businesses, employment and lives in the most vulnerable communities. Whites have been trampling one another to signal their solidarity, bemoan racism or engage in ritual public admission of guilt. Perhaps it is to be expected from a culture for which cause and effect, (i.e. policies, ideologies, compilation of data, accountability, and responsibility) are consider manifestations of suppressive privilege. Are black men, women and children people being murdered? Absolutely. How many, why and by whom (and what sort of cultural conditioning preceded this reign of death) is a discussion that will not take place. The horrific reality is that the misery of the black condition is a revenue stream for both the public and private sectors. Black lives Matter? Black lives comprise the raw material that is fed into fraudulent public education, (little more than holding pens) until they are of age for the crime/punishment, social services and abortion industries. Their misery is exploited by white and black politicians, community organizers and crime syndicates. The current fiasco is a case in point.

Being up close with incarcerated black men for several years, exposed me to a human dignity, ingenuity and potential that while a flickering spark was not extinguished. Helping these men reclaim their inherent value and dignity was the greatest privilege of my life. There is no word of contempt sufficient for those, black and white, that profit from and manipulate black lives while stripping them of their human dignity and potential.

Brad Lena