chicagocitygirl

The new Black Panther party is up and running.  I took the time to read their “10 Point Platform”, and I was a bit confused by some of the things I read.  I agree that the “Black Community” has many problems, but I do not think the answer to this is “paying reparations” to African Americans or exempting them from paying taxes.    Their list of points claims that the “white minority” is holding them back and they should be free to do – well whatever they want as long as they can be tried in a courtroom with a black jury. 

I was particularly amused by their drive to end being “forced” to defend a country that hates them.  Last time I checked, we don’t have the draft anymore.  Every male has to register for it at 18, regardless of their race.  But no one is forcing African Americans to enroll in a branch of the military. Their aim to provide better education was by far the most noble, but it was aimed at providing an education that pointed out how evil the white man is/was.  I am a teacher, and trust me – the students know how brutal slavery was.  They are also well aware of how awful life was before the Civil Rights movement.  It’s not a secret – white people were cruel; some of them still are.  But how does it help to lump all of us together when there are many white people who are rooting for them to succeed in the first place? 

The salient point in each of their arguments is that they want to end racism, yet each of their points separates them from being “American”.  If they want to be treated as equals, I believe they first need to strive to try to be an equal! 

Thinking about the original Black Panther party makes me very nervous to begin with. Why would we want to perpetuate that violence yet again?  I don’t know about you, but I happen to like my body without bullets in it.

If you are curious about the site, please visit them: http://www.newblackpanther.com.  Let me know what you think!

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