Friday, January 27, 2023

No products in the cart.

  • About
    • Contributors
    • Disclaimers
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Giving back
    • Mission Statement
    • Past Issues
    • Where to Find
    • Call us at 613-935-3763
  • Advertise With Us!
 
  • Home
  • News
  • Leisure & Lifestyle
  • Columns
  • LTE
  • Events
  • Contributors
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
the seeker

Racism is alive and well

Julia Lucio by Julia Lucio
December 5, 2014
in Editorial, News and Announcements
Reading Time: 81 mins read
65 4
7
SHARES
222
VIEWS

editorialJulia Lucio writes: I don’t know about you, but I don’t particularly like racists.

When I look at people, I don’t see color. I think most Canadians are probably like me.

You might also like

Five Questions with Juliette Labossière – United Way Executive Director

Second Annual Park Jam needs your help

Inpatient Surgery Unit at Cornwall Hospital Equipped with New Wearable Monitors

I grew up with a father who, like most people of his generation, occasionally used the N-word, not because he was racist, not to be derogatory but because that’s what Canadians in the fifties called people of colour. We Canadians lived the slavery era very differently than the Americans did and when the word was used, it didn’t have the same connotation, honest to God! I’m not saying it’s right, it’s not, but we don’t understand the hurt that lies in that word, we don’t realize that this word, in the mouth of a white man, brings back images of beatings, hangings, killings – lynchings. Racism in Canada is barely talked about in history books. In America, it seems to be the norm. The wounds run much deeper.

I actually had no idea what racism was, I mean really was, until I met my husband and got to spend some time in the United States as one of them rather than as a visitor. I had been to the States many times before, but with white folks. I soon found out that traveling the Country with my kind is very different than roaming with a Hispanic American.

Here in Canada, I never felt looked down upon when out in public with John. As a matter of fact, I always have considered him white until he told me he was brown! I don’t see him as being dark. I don’t see our children as being dark. Over there, especially down South, dirty looks are a common occurence. Looks that when aimed at me say “how dare you choose this substandard human being instead of a white man” and when aimed at him mehands_up_dont_shoot_michael_brownan “How dare you steal one of our white women!” It’s surreal. It’s something I just can’t comprehend. The hate is almost palpable, like nothing I’ve ever felt before. And John is not even that dark! I can only imagine what kind of harassment I would get if my husband was black.

The hatred between whites and non-whites runs deep in the blood of Americans and within it, lies hundreds of years of questionable history. Discrimination is omnipresent. It’s no wonder all hell breaks loose when events like that of Ferguson happen.

Maybe Michael Brown was a thug. Maybe he had it coming. Maybe he had attacked Wilson, wasn’t surrendering and was charging at Wilson when he fired. Maybe Wilson WAS just doing his job. But that is not in question. It’s not in question because it wasn’t allowed to be in question.

The problem is that Wilson wasn’t indicted. A grand Jury, composed of 9 whites and 3 blacks, in an area where the vast majority of the population is black, decided that there wasn’t enough evidence to indict. Nancy Grace said last week “when a prosecutor wants an indictment, he gets one!” It is extraordinarily rare for a grand jury to override the prosecutor’s intention to obtain an indictment. So I can only assume that the prosecution didn’t use the due diligence required to push this case further. When the prosecution asks witnesses questions such as “Do you know what the name of your medication is that you take for your mental health” or “The first time you talked to the FBI… you told them a story that had a bunch of lies, isn’t that right?”, totally discrediting them as a witnesses in the process, you don’t really need a defense, do you?  Are prosecutors are defense attorneys for the police?

Guilty or not, Brown did not get fair representation and THAT’S the problem.

The judicial system decided that Brown’s memory was not worthy of preservation. They decided his family didn’t have the right to know what really happened. They stripped all of them down of their basic dignity–the white man is still Master and the black man, slave.Wilson walked free without so much as a slap on the wrist, simply adding insult to injury.

I remember thinking after seeing the picture of officer Wilson’s injured face on TV that my 4 and 6 year old hurt themselves more than this when they fight each other! Was this seriously the only injuries this guy sustained? Michael Brown was unarmed. Wilson, who stated being terrified by this “giant”, still pursued Brown and shot at him a total of 12 times, 6 of which bullets hit him, the last one killing him. Seems to me a couple of non-fatal shots could have stopped Brown, no? Why did Wilson have to use deadly force if not for the deep hatred he harbored for the fugitive?

And why a grand jury? Why, if not for the fact that the defendant is a white police officer, would a prosecutor invoke a grand jury when they can simply bring the charges before the judge? Do you know that while being investigated, Wilson was still collecting paychecks and planning his wedding? What do you think would have happened if Brown had killed Wilson? If the roles were reversed? I’ll tell you what would have happened! Brown would have been charged the very next day and would have spent the last few months rotting in jail, waiting for trial.

Indeed, racism is alive and well in America.

The policemen or soldiers are only a gun in the establishments hand. They make the racist secure in his racism. -Huey Newton

Author

  • Julia Lucio
    Julia Lucio

    Editorial Board
    Managing Editor
    Social Justice Issues

    View all posts

Tags: darren WilsonMichael Brownracism
Next Post

Cornwall Colts fall short versus Pembroke Lumber Kings

Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube TikTok
Don't miss anything!

Get notified of all our new news by ringing the bell at the bottom left corner!

Content Safety

HERO

theseeker.ca

Trustworthy

Approved by Sur.ly

2022
The Seeker Newspaper is located at 327 Second Street E., Cornwall, ON K6H 1Y8 -- All rights reserved
The Seeker does not accept responsibility for errors, misprints or inaccuracies published within. The opinions and statements of our columnists are not to be presumed as the statements and opinions of The Seeker, and should not substitute professional or medical advice.
ISSN 2562-1750 (Print)

ISSN 2562-1769 (Online)
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Leisure & Lifestyle
  • Columns
  • LTE
  • Events
  • Contributors

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.