TemplarKormac
Political Atheist
Forgive me if this has been posted elsewhere, but it bears repeating.
Ben Watson. All the Dawg fans know he played Tight End for the Georgia Bulldogs from 2001 to 2003. Now a member of the NFL and playing for the New Orleans Saints, he found out about the Ferguson decision right before he was set to play on November 24. As a side note, he scored a 48 on the Wonderlic Test, which is tied for the third highest score ever for a player in the NFL, so he's quite the intelligent man. The catch? He's black, and a devout Christian.
Enter his response to the Ferguson decision. He penned his response on his Facebook page the day after the decision was made, and did it ever garner attention. As of December 1st, over 800,000 people have liked his post and over 450,000 people have shared it. Such a response demonstrates the small but growing flaw in the race narrative swirling around Ferguson. He does well in looking at it from both sides, too. He also shows how torn he is between the anger, the hate, the fear, and the facts. Here's but just a few paragraphs:
Stop right there. He acknowledges his own prejudices as an African American, and then rightfully condemns the same reasoning among those of his own race, who chose to go with emotion over facts. He feels the same as those protesters, in a way, but acknowledges that reality and the facts don't support the emotion involved with the protests. He knows how it feels. He also knows prejudice is not the answer. Basically as far as racism goes, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." There are other less violent and incendiary ways of making a point. Mind you, the people responsible for inciting this chaos are quiet.
The previous paragraph makes another solid point:
Bingo. He knows some cops are dedicated to doing their duties, he knows that some cops don't, and use their power as "a weapon to brandish and lord over the populace." I agree. Not all cops are perfect cops. Some of them are downright awful cops. But he understands that in a battle of wills between a man and a cop, the man will lose, so it is better for the man to submit, instead of endangering his life by attacking the officer.
He also makes this observation:
Instead of being outraged, he pities both sides who were affected by the shooting--the officer and Micheal Brown's family-- Wilson may have been doing his job, or not. He honestly didn't know. Maybe Wilson has to fear for his safety and the well being of his loved ones in the face of the backlash, that or maybe Wilson intentionally provoked a response from Micheal Brown, and murdered the kid in cold blood (just to let you know, the latter statement has already been disproven by witness testimonies). He feels for all of those involved. But he stops just short of jumping to a conclusion. That is the mark of a wise man.
Then he calls out the the music and movie industries, and pop culture for glorifying the type of altercation that took place that day:
That's quite true. Too many young men (black or white) try to emulate the things they hear and see, they turn to music, movies, and trends in popular culture for guidance. They grow up believing they are invincible, thus leading them to believe they can take on the world and win. This mindset results in tragedies like the one in Ferguson. It is upsetting for him to know how this is unlikely to stop, and he wants the pillars of our culture to understand that. He knows the fine line between reality and fantasy.
Lastly, he expresses his hope and confidence in the future of relations between members of different races. It's not a SKIN problem, but a SIN problem:
Whatever religion you believe, or if in fact you believe the same things he does, he wants to let everyone know that there is hope for this world though a higher power, and that people can acknowledge not the skin color (Hat tip to MLK) but the content of character and the humanity of those of their peers. To err is human, but to forgive is divine.
You can read the entirety of his post here:
Benjamin Watson - At some point while I was playing or... Facebook
Ben Watson. All the Dawg fans know he played Tight End for the Georgia Bulldogs from 2001 to 2003. Now a member of the NFL and playing for the New Orleans Saints, he found out about the Ferguson decision right before he was set to play on November 24. As a side note, he scored a 48 on the Wonderlic Test, which is tied for the third highest score ever for a player in the NFL, so he's quite the intelligent man. The catch? He's black, and a devout Christian.
Enter his response to the Ferguson decision. He penned his response on his Facebook page the day after the decision was made, and did it ever garner attention. As of December 1st, over 800,000 people have liked his post and over 450,000 people have shared it. Such a response demonstrates the small but growing flaw in the race narrative swirling around Ferguson. He does well in looking at it from both sides, too. He also shows how torn he is between the anger, the hate, the fear, and the facts. Here's but just a few paragraphs:
Stop right there. He acknowledges his own prejudices as an African American, and then rightfully condemns the same reasoning among those of his own race, who chose to go with emotion over facts. He feels the same as those protesters, in a way, but acknowledges that reality and the facts don't support the emotion involved with the protests. He knows how it feels. He also knows prejudice is not the answer. Basically as far as racism goes, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." There are other less violent and incendiary ways of making a point. Mind you, the people responsible for inciting this chaos are quiet.
The previous paragraph makes another solid point:
Bingo. He knows some cops are dedicated to doing their duties, he knows that some cops don't, and use their power as "a weapon to brandish and lord over the populace." I agree. Not all cops are perfect cops. Some of them are downright awful cops. But he understands that in a battle of wills between a man and a cop, the man will lose, so it is better for the man to submit, instead of endangering his life by attacking the officer.
He also makes this observation:
Instead of being outraged, he pities both sides who were affected by the shooting--the officer and Micheal Brown's family-- Wilson may have been doing his job, or not. He honestly didn't know. Maybe Wilson has to fear for his safety and the well being of his loved ones in the face of the backlash, that or maybe Wilson intentionally provoked a response from Micheal Brown, and murdered the kid in cold blood (just to let you know, the latter statement has already been disproven by witness testimonies). He feels for all of those involved. But he stops just short of jumping to a conclusion. That is the mark of a wise man.
Then he calls out the the music and movie industries, and pop culture for glorifying the type of altercation that took place that day:
That's quite true. Too many young men (black or white) try to emulate the things they hear and see, they turn to music, movies, and trends in popular culture for guidance. They grow up believing they are invincible, thus leading them to believe they can take on the world and win. This mindset results in tragedies like the one in Ferguson. It is upsetting for him to know how this is unlikely to stop, and he wants the pillars of our culture to understand that. He knows the fine line between reality and fantasy.
Lastly, he expresses his hope and confidence in the future of relations between members of different races. It's not a SKIN problem, but a SIN problem:
Whatever religion you believe, or if in fact you believe the same things he does, he wants to let everyone know that there is hope for this world though a higher power, and that people can acknowledge not the skin color (Hat tip to MLK) but the content of character and the humanity of those of their peers. To err is human, but to forgive is divine.
You can read the entirety of his post here:
Benjamin Watson - At some point while I was playing or... Facebook
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