Origin: posted by Bella L to the original La Bella Journeys on 5/18/2015

Biker Gang Killed 9 & Injured 18, Waco Texas

Man Walking Home, Ferguson Missouri


In response to an article floating around on Facebook about these pictures, I decided to share it and write this:

“When white gang members kill, or rather, mass murder, 9 people… 
VS
When people of color protest when someone has been killed… 
before this article came out, I saw a lot of the pictures and tweets and wondered about the treatment of those arrested in the biker gang, opposed to my brothers and sisters who have been protesting. I’ve seen a lot of comments and thoughts shared about how this difference in treatment is due to the fact that those being arrested were not rioting, or how police are afraid that the biker gangs will come after them if one of their own is killed or hurt in the process. 
The problem with these theories is that people seem to be missing the first point- That these gang members actually mass murdered people, and that the most recent riots and protests (two different things in my opinion) were in response to what has been individual murders by those who are supposed to protect us. The second point they are missing is that if the police are really treating the biker gang members differently (more civilly) because they are scared of them, then the flip side of the coin would be that the police treat people of color uncivilly because they feel like they can, because they are not afraid of rioters and protesters, because they feel justified and unafraid of repercussions. 
Though I agree with the “flip side of coin”, I cannot agree with the rest. There is a HUGE chasm in between the differences of treatment we see here, and it makes me wonder how people can continually try to throw blankets over the chasm and say “racism does not exist”, or “its all in your head, your just paranoid”! If we don’t chose change now…. One day, we wont be able to knit fast enough to make a blanket large enough and it will slip right into that great big ol chasm, and we’ll all be standing around wondering how that hole got so big.”
 I fear-and yet know this to be too true- we (being American Society) have become extremely comfortable with putting cartoon decorative band aids on gaping battle wounds, hoping that no one will notice the infection. We’ve accepted throwing a blanket over the chasm, and every time someone falls in, We claim we didn’t know the hole was there, and then we cover it again. We have resisted change in the form of reconciliation, restoration, and racial justice for far too long….In fact, we’ve prolonged it due to our pride and sense of entitlement. Seriously, If you are brave enough to ask why we feel so entitled, ASK. I say brave enough because with knowledge comes power and responsibilities. Maybe we haven’t asked that question, or we haven’t really asked too many questions about race at all, due to the fact that we don’t want the responsibility that comes with that knowledge… we don’t want to take responsibility for all the shitty things we have done as a country.

That being said, the problem isn’t only the difference between how the police treated mostly white gang members and minority protesters, the additional problem is that the police say they already knew the gangs would be meeting that day and that violence would be probable- JUST like that has been said before verdicts, trials, and protests. But instead of shutting it down or setting up parameters before hand, or calling in the National Guard, they allowed for the environment to escalate to injure 18 and kill 9. No matter how you slice it, a few biker gangs committed murder before the police intervened and made arrests and there doesn’t seem to be any extra police force- no brutality at play, at least not publicly. But when minorities gather- for any reason, much less just to protest- our wheels start grinding to what we know- stereotypes, profiling, and a lot of what we have seen lately- ‘justifiable’ police violence.

To those who say they do not want a “Race War’- Race has been a war in the USA for ‘minorities’ ever since this country was founded! Its totally irrational to expect people to suddenly “get over” a war that has been being fought since the first settlers/explorers arrived. Race is a social construct that has been turned into a societal norm, and we have always used it to profile, judge, stereotype, and justify unjust actions. This race war has affected every ethnicity represented in America, this is not “just a black and white thing”!

There is a Bible verse (Luke 11:9-13) that talks about asking for the Holy Spirit. As someone who is passionate about this particular justice issue, and who believes in Christ and wants to live out a life like the one He lead; I think it’s imperative to ask for the Holy Spirit to guide those of us who are following Jesus and passionate about social justice. I believe that these issues were so close to Jesus heart… but I also know that if we try to be the hands without Jesus leading us, the end could be fatal in this life and the next for so many…. It will all be done in vain. In order to truly make a difference, our priorities have to be straight, especially as people claiming to follow the Lord. That doesn’t mean we will be perfect, but we have to keep our eyes on the prize- and remember exactly what the prize is (1 Corinthians 9:24-26 NCV)

I pray that God would lead my steps, my hands, and my passion. I pray that the movement that this country so desperately needs would happen, and that it’s leaders would be Jesus driven and Holy Spirit led.I pray that the church would continue to be open to discussing these topics, that the church would not be afraid to have these hard discussions, and that they would embrace those who have been wounded by this race war with open arms…But most of all? I pray that my generation will stand up and become the leaders that this movement needs.

Still not convinced that race is an issue in America? Still not convinced that profiling exists? Watch the video below.



As always, let me know what YOU think in the comments!