Baltimore: You Were Not Paying Attention – Part 6
Please say what you mean.
Beware of the forked tongue…
Its been bothering me that folks are talking two ways with the same mouth. I was disappointed that Obama called the Baltimore youth “criminals and thugs”. It didn’t sit well with me. I really tried to understand his diplomatic obligation (I have a talent for empathy), but I couldn’t.
I’m a Baltimore bred, black woman trying to make the world a better place. That is all I can do at this time. I’m a straight shooter, and at times labeled a strong personality. Therein lies my problem with Obama’s response to the present upheaval of Baltimore. Fox and Friends’ Facebook page reported Obama describing the Baltimore teens as “a handful of criminals and thugs who tore up the place” while the White House’s Facebook page suggested that we “consider those kids our kids, and think that that they’re important.” How can one political response have two completely different spins?
I’d dare to say the dichotomous tones of his response stem from a nature of a forked tongue. Snakes’ tongues have 2 tips to detect from which direction a smell comes. This trait is for survival tactics like finding food and shelter. And that’s the danger of liberal democracy in the United States; that there are two complete different spins on a same stance to gauge the American public.
I guess my disappointment with Obama is finally sinking in because he was forced to side with either Baltimore’s anguish or the media’s disapproval of #BaltimoreRising. Instead of choosing a side, he eloquently attempted to appease both sides with his forked tongue. Even I was at ease for a day by his response.
I saw a viral video of a Baltimore mom knocking her son upside his head for participating in the youth’s disturbance of the town. My initial reaction was that is an act of a mother’s love. Not how I’d love my son, but I get why she garnered praise from the black community. Then, I saw white media praising this mom’s efforts of discipline. I immediately asked myself, “Why doesn’t the white media see this mom’s form of corporal punishment as child abuse?”
I guess it’s cool for this mom to use violence to stop violence. Her form of discipline is approvable, but Adrian Peterson can be arrested for disciplining his child. Burning inanimate objects is violent, but killing black bodies isn’t. Why didn’t white media interview Baltimore gang members who, usually prone to violence, deliberately chose nonviolence during the Baltimore protests. The white media’s portrayal of this “mother of the year” is another “forked tongue” attempt to gauge the critical thinking skills of the masses. How can one condone something that they condemn?
I get politics. I just don’t like them. My heart and soul is aching for Baltimore. There isn’t an incentive for me to wisely choose my words in order to maintain fragile connections. I’m brushing up on figures of speech and reminding those passionately following these events in Baltimore why snakes have such a negative connotation. If you have to use both tips of your tongue to communicate, then it speaks to a lack of genuineness that one has on a issue.
The pain I see in Baltimore is visceral. You either feel it or you don’t. I do not have the time to mingle with those estimating their responses on this issue. I’d rather gravitate to those absorbing the ugliness of this human experience. Because this is an issue of the human condition, and not one of damaged property.
