Arrest of two in Racist Tulsa, Oklahoma Shootings
Two white guys were arrested on suspicion of a shooting spree in Tulsa Oklahoma. 19-year-old Jake England and 32-year-old Alvin Watts are being charged with three counts of first degree murder and two counts of shooting with intent to kill. What is very interesting is if you scan the 224 comments on the shooting. The thing is that I think the collective society would be willing to address the racism of its members except that the racist members hold too much sway over the masses. The fact is that too many of the non racist members of society do not stand up to confront their more racist brethren. It’s like the dirty cop; good cops know who are the dirty cops are, but they rarely speak out or do anything to get them off the force. Likewise, many members of society are mute when it comes to the racist murmurs, rantings and actions of their friends and family.
This is why, as much as we may regard the government as a tool of the racists, we must use their laws to force them to abide by their own proclamations of justice and equality. This is why groups like the republicans seek to roll back the laws that they despise so much. These laws lay the foundation for turning their own system against them. Even if we re-establish independent political and economic strength, we must be invested in the system enough so that through our political strength, we can use the system to our advantage. Change will not come from working within the system; only external pressure will push the system towards a more just and equal society. Nevertheless, we must have sufficient influence within the system to use it to protect our socioeconomic and sociopolitical gains, otherwise we suffer the terrible setbacks such as Tulsa, Rosewood or even Overtown over again.