Nobel Peace Prize?

I see many are discussing the nomination of Black Lives Matter for the Nobel Peace Prize. Of course some are saying that BLM is a national terrorist group. This stirs up some thoughts in my mind. 

When I first found out about George Floyd, it was via scrolling through Facebook. I didn't talk to my husband or kids about it for a few days, although it quite consumed me when I wasn't busy doing anything else. I was watching closely to see if arrests were made and what was going on. 

My kids found out from my husband's cousin, which led to a great conversation and series of conversations that I shared here. I figured my husband had seen news about it, but I guess I just didn't know how to bring it up, and he hadn't either. He broke the ice by standing behind me as I was sitting behind my computer a few days following Floyd's death and saying in Creole, "Did you hear about the black guy the police killed in the U.S.?" (My husband is black and is Haitian. He has never yet traveled off this island. I'm primarily of European/Irish descent and am originally from Virginia, but have been here in the Dominican Republic for thirteen years, since college). I replied with a simple, "Yeah". I won't quote him verbatim here, but in few words, he let me know in a joking way that he'd heard it communicated as an act of war with brewings of something similar to the Haitian revolution in 1804. I laughed slightly at his joke and he walked away. 

I felt relieved that he broke the ice, and also was slightly startled, yet amused by his half-hearted comment. All my family are white people in the U.S. so of course there was a bit of sting to the joke, but I got over it quickly, knowing that it was nothing more than that. He did not actually have access to secret intel. It's not funny, but neither is history. 

True, we didn't have an in depth conversation at that time, but my brain started spinning. I mentioned in another post that my husband doesn't really talk about racism and is one of those people who doesn't let it get to him. He in no way made that statement from a place of personal anger or hate. 

If you aren't familiar with Haitian history, Haiti was a French colony that employed a very brutal slave system, compared to the U.S., for example, where there was a 10:1 slave to slaveholder ratio. It is said that extra measures were taken by the French to be able to control the slaves, as they were so outnumbered. 

Well, in summary, they lost control, militias were formed, and the slaves led a genocide against all the French that didn't manage to flee. This happened in 1804, 28 years after the U.S. declared independence from Great Britain, and made Haiti the second colony in the New World to gain independence. This is also said to have made Haiti the first free black republic in the world, although I have to admit I don't

Toussaint Louverture,
Haitian Revolution leader

understand the details to that and the situation of other black republics around the world. 

I talked in my last post about how in the years following independence, France then continued to threaten to attack and overtake Haiti again, extorting enormous amounts of money from the young republic. Other countries were reported to have done similar types of bullying. Anyway, this history is what floated around in my mind following his comment. I then posted these thoughts on May 29. 

"Here's some food for thought. America gained independence in a bloody revolution against England, right? And we celebrate and honor that. It is honorable to die while defending the freedom of your people, even if you're not in the bondage of slavery, but your freedom is even threatened somehow.

What if descendants of slaves in the United States, facing unjust treatment still, God forbid, put those same principles into action? With the extreme availability of guns, what if secret militias were already forming? I'm not saying this to encourage any such thing, but to invite reflection about potential consequences of actions. Hoping and praying that those in power listen to Jesus by treating others as they would want to be treated. Since when does cold blooded murder caught on tape require an investigation before arrest?"

Some friends and family chimed in and I appreciated the dialogue. Again, I was in no way trying to condone violence by posting that, but to ask "what if" questions to make us think of best ways to avoid violence in our reaction to situations, but also in what we teach and celebrate. I also poured my thoughts into this post during those first few days, which shares a plea for people to take a knee and listen. 

And then what happened? Wikipedia provides a wealth of information that seems reliable. The numbers at least match up with what I've read in other sources. Protests in all fifty states, plus D.C., (plus other countries, but these stats apply to the U.S.). 93% of protests were considered to have no violence or destruction involved and therefore were deemed peaceful. 25 people dead, over a billion dollars in property damage, tens of thousands of people arrested, tens of millions of participants.

The article also says, "it is partially initiated by the nationwide Black Lives Matter movement". These stats cover the racial unrest, but not events or protests specifically organized by the organization Black Lives Matter. Pick a war that the U.S. was involved in and do a Google search. You'll find that the casualties were hundreds of thousands, some into the millions. And what have the causes of war been? Does the video of George Floyd being suffocated by a police officer for eight minutes while handcuffed and motionless, and what that represents to the African American community rank among such motivations?

We should mourn the lives of those 25 (and more if there are) people whose lives were lost. It's surely sad that businesses were damaged, and I hope that they were or will be able to recover with insurance, and other means, such as community support. I used my voice to urge peace throughout. But when you put it in this perspective, these protests look pretty peaceful by comparison, don't they? A different approach could have been taken. Violent acts could have been planned and executed, as that is what is taught as the heroic response to violations of freedom. In fact, it might just be a successful example to the world of how to communicate and work through problems without using violence toward other humans.

The name Black Lives Matter surely is a humble and peaceful one, although people still somehow found ways to find it offensive. Their website displays no aggression or hate. And when have you ever seen a cause so unified and widely spread? Black Lives Matter may or may not win the Nobel Peace Prize, but they should at the very least, earn the respect of anyone who has ever tried to motivate, organize, lead, or motivate literally anything, from a large conferences to group assignments.

With that being said, let me also say that I think BLM's role in their cause is an easy one compared to groups like Equal Justice Initiative who has been fighting for criminal justice reform and educating the public about their work for over thirty years. And then there are groups like Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and Teach for America, which give basically anyone the pathway to mentor directly into the lives of vulnerable youth. I volunteered with BBBS throughout college and still keep in touch with my little sister and her family.

If BLM would use their audience (and maybe they do and I'm unaware) to not only drive change through petitions and protests, but also convince people to give their resources to groups like Equal Justice Initiative, and to give their time to directly investing in the life of a vulnerable young person through groups like Big Brothers Big Sisters, then I think this chapter of history could truly come to a close, and racial statistics in the U.S. could become a thing of the past.

I am in no way trying to display insensitivity to people who were innocent victims of violence or property damage that did take place during these protests. I am putting the effects of it all into perspective, considering the alternative methods of warfare that have been used throughout history when groups of people are unable to come to an agreement.

As for the argument that BLM is a domestic terrorist group, we actually have the insurrection on the Capitol on January 6th to compare it to. Five people were killed during a four hour attack in one location. Compare that to 25 deaths from several months of protesting all over the country. Again, not trying to support violence or destruction in any way, but to simply put things into perspective.

Thanks for reading and please leave your thoughts in the comments!

Edited March 31, 2021.

Wonderfully Woven

Misunderstood don't gotta be explained

But you don't understand me, so let me explain

- Lil Wayne, Misunderstood

Lil Wayne is a potty mouth, but he also has some beautiful songs and lyrics. He has emerged as an African American man who says he has not experienced racism and asks others to question situations without jumping to conclusions that race was an issue. While I appreciate his advice that no one should be too quick to jump to conclusions about conflict being rooted in racism, there are plenty of voices from the black community sharing different experiences, like THIS ONE that recently happened close to my hometown in Virginia. (Capital letters used to show that there is a link.) 

Out of all of the signs and memes I have seen regarding race issues over these past two weeks, this one may explain a situation that seems to be misunderstood the best. 

The confusion on this is something I have never understood. I used to hear people complain about affirmative action. Some are now defensive when they see Black Lives Matter. This little girl breaks it down so clearly. She says, "We just need your help with #blacklivesmatter for black lives are in danger!" 

Vandalism isn't pleasant. Looting and violence are horrible. Disrespect to undeserving police officers doesn't help. Let's all listen to this sweet little girl rather than continuing in a war with those things. 

Many people would say that black lives are not in danger. That is a thing of the past. While they would agree that the death of George Floyd was clearly horrible and the officer should be charged with a crime, they may still say things like, "that could've easily been a white man that the police killed" or "I can't judge any situation when I didn't see all of the circumstances leading up to it". "He had a criminal record." "He was high".

To that, I would say you are missing the point. There is no reason for police forces not to practice tactics that have been proven to reduce these situations. THIS SITE shows what these best practices are, and where they have and have not been adopted. Additionally, there is no reason for the country to not strongly and seriously consider diverting resources from policing vulnerable neighborhoods, setting expectations for the presence of criminals, to other efforts such as mentoring vulnerable neighborhoods, setting standards for growth and excellence. The latter is what is being pleaded for when "defunding the police" is mentioned. 

I would also say that some of those comments listed two paragraphs above could create groupthink, which is when people feel a certain amount of certainty over an idea because they hear many people in their groups saying it and supporting it. Groupthink causes groups to make poor decisions. What we don't want is for a jury to judge these cases with bias, making the statement that the killings are excusable. 

The history of white men and sometimes women, both police and civilians, being excused or given very light punishments after killing a black person is what has caused all of this. I hope everyone will consider that. You may not agree with the extent of the problem, or feel as though it is being exaggerated, but no one can close their eyes to the fact that all of this emotion did not come from nowhere. 

Therefore, everyone must be careful to keep from contributing to those unjust rulings on these present cases, as well as on anything that could happen in the future. We must realize that when we are too forgiving of those who happen to look like us, we are actually condemning other groups, and that only adds to the problem. If you don't think that I am right in saying that, just look at Ahmaud Arbery's case. Months after he was killed while innocently jogging by people who were not even police and no arrests were made until a video made it to the public. When I first found out, I upheld faith in the system and blamed the lack of arrests on the coronavirus chaos. However, many factors and conversations made me conclude otherwise. If the coronavirus wasn't too chaotic for an arrest of George Floyd to be made for allegedly counterfeit money, it surely wasn't too chaotic for the arrest of Arbery's murderers. 

Some are just bothered by the conflict. They don't want to deal with the situation. They would rather just say it doesn't exist. That, unfortunately, doesn't work either. The sooner we collectively face it, the closer we are to making it less of an issue. 

The changes proposed by the reasonable protestors (recognizing that not all protestors are reasonable) don't necessarily have to be a drastic change. This does not mean that police presence would be immediately and completely removed and anarchy would exist. That claim is polarized and creates unnecessary division. Pilot projects can be executed, and already have been. Camden, NJ, FOR EXAMPLE, made some of these changes and saw a 42% decrease in crime. Whether or not this is a perfect example, can we examine it, learn from it, and try new things? Change can be implemented with caution, gradually. But this is simply what Black Lives Matter is asking for. I see absolutely no harm that moving in this direction would have on anyone. In fact, if executed responsibly, it would surely be positive for everyone.  

So if you have been complaining about this movement that has been embraced all over the United States and even many parts of the world, it is time to give in to this cute little girl, whose name I wish I knew. She, like all of us, was fearfully and wonderfully made, woven together in her mother's womb by the Creator. (Psalms 139:13-14) You don't have to donate to the cause or go out and protest, but just understand what she is saying and be sensitive to it. 

We know that this is a cause that is not going to be forgotten. It must be respected and given proper attention. This isn't about political party. It's time for everyone to give in, compromise, and unite again. Only then can the true delinquents that are looting and using violence be efficiently recognized and dealt with. And when they are, they will stop taking advantage. 

Check out these wonderfully woven dolls, representing an array of racial beauty. These
dolls are designed by my good friend Nicole Plata, made with the help of local girls here in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Nicole designed them, realizing that there were barely any dolls in this country that accurately represent the children here with varying skin tones. We are selling these dolls as a fundraiser for a school here that is in danger of closing its doors. This is the school that Project Esperanza has come to grow a trusting relationship with, and is where we send our top students for high school, as it is within walking distance of our school.

After 35 years of excellent academic performance and dedication to small, manageable classrooms, the school is down on its luck because of a greedy landlord and the difficulties brought on by the covid lockdown. Your PURCHASE OF A DOLL can help SAVE THIS SCHOOL. 

Thank you for your help by either chipping in, sharing, or both. At the very least, let's work together to resolve these problems at hand. If I can look past Lil Wayne's incredibly dirty and offensive words and find his flashes of brilliance, his touching, truthful language, then I think everyone can do that in some way in order to work together toward a common cause for humanity. As it says on the Haitian flag, "L'Union fait la force" which means "Unity is strength". 

And I just want you to know

That you deserve the best

You're beautifuuul

You're beautiful

Yeah, and I want you to know

You're far from the usual

-Lil Wayne, How to Love

Oakland, CA

Photo taken by Beth Laberge