OPEN THOUGHTS TO THOSE WHO DON'T CARE

I was told when the whole Kaepernick situation was going on, that what Kaepernick was doing was not only against the American Flag, it was against God. The young man that told me that was a proud southern white man. I couldn't even make it make sense how protesting police brutality is against God? Now with the George Floyd situation happening, it got me wondering, where we at now? Is what happened to George Floyd more God fearing? Will those cops have open access to Heaven for what they did?

I got to thinking about my family, and I wonder if other mixed people are feeling the same way. I see my black cousins speaking out and speaking up on what's going on. I know I'm not "all the way black" but I do own a mirror. I hear what I sound like. I realize that it could be me. I could be a hashtag. And with that being said, I found myself thinking about more of my white side of the family, mainly the ones I haven't met. If it was me, would you care then, or would I just be another dead nigga? What scares me is that I got some family members crying angry over George Floyd, and I got some family members who could care less.

You know what? I just want to say thank you to all of those who say, All Lives Matter, in response to Black Lives Matter. I want to say thank you to those who are silent. I want to say thank you for those who like to argue with my generation and not talk to our generation. I say thank you because now we know who really cares and who doesn't. Who really cares that it could've easily been me or my black family members to become a hashtag all because of the way we look.

Why do I say that when people say All Lives Matter they don't care? Cause I'm literally crying in your face and because you're not crying you're wondering why should I be crying? I'm telling you I got a headache, but you're saying because you don't have a headache, why should you care about mine? My pain matters too. Our pain matters. Not saying yours don't, but I'm screaming. Let me scream! Don't say you shouldn't scream cause I'm not screaming. Ask me why am I screaming? How can I help? Humanity. "All lives matter in the eyes of God." So, you're saying that God doesn't hear the cry of black people because he cares for all lives. So if a parent has a couple of kids and one of them are crying, this parent shouldn't hear the cry of that one due to having other kids.

Matthew 18:10-15 "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."

There's an old hymn called That One Lost Sheep,

"The Shepherd went out to search for His sheep

And all thro' the night on the rocky steep

He sought till he found him

With love bands he bound him

And I was that one lost sheep"

Those who are silent. Silence is speaking loud right now. Silence is conforming. This is not the time for silence. If you're silent, I can't hear that you care. I can't hear if you hear my cry. I can't hear if you don't care.

Some people are looking to argue and not looking to have a conversation. That's why some people in my generation don't go to the older generation. We're tired of conversation that turn into arguments. We just want answers. We want direction. We want help. If they're not willing to help, do your own research.

"Good cop, good cop, where is your dignity?
Where's your empathy?
Where is your sympathy?
Bad cop, where's your humanity?
Good cop, is that just a fantasy?" ~ Good Cop Bad Cop, Ice Cube

"Tell me what has become of my rights
Am I invisible because you ignore me?
Your proclamation promised me free liberty, now
I'm tired of bein' the victim of shame
They're throwing me in a class with a bad name
I can't believe this is the land from which I came
You know I do really hate to say it
The government don't want to see
But if Roosevelt was livin'
He wouldn't let this be, no, no" ~ They Don't Care About Us, Michael Jackson

To all that are against black lives mattering, to all the white supremacist in my family, I want to say that I still love you. I'm praying for you. To my family, if we ever meet, I hope we can hug like family and not fight like enemies. Sadly I haven't met a lot of my family members on my Dad's side and regardless of the reason, and I don't even know if you'll ever read this. But I just want to say, I'm Daniel Richerson. I'm mixed. Not by choice. I'm family. If you don't want to accept that, that's ok. I'm still praying for you. I still love you even though you probably don't love me.

And to my family members who are down, who really cares, I see you. Respect. When we're allowed to BBQ again---

~Daniel Richerson

HOW LONG WILL THIS CYCLE CONTINUE?

"When the weight of this whole world
Tries to slay me
A strong tower from the enemy
You will be for me
So I need to find this place
Yes the special secret place
I'm assured of Your embrace
The place I ca'll my sanctuary
There You are" ~ Lead Me To The Rock, Stephen Hurd

"Truth is I'm tired
Options are few
I'm trying to pray
But where are you?
I'm all churched out
Hurt and abused
I can't fake
What's left to do?
Truth is I'm weak
No strength to fight
No tears to cry
Even if I tried
But still my soul
Refuses to die
One touch-will change-my life" ~Take Me To The King, Tamela Mann

"Pass me not oh gentle savior
Hear my humble cry
While on others thou art calling
Do not pass me by"

The last few posts were focused on mental health. Focused on not holding stuff in and finding people to talk to. Talking about all that, and then the reality of America comes to fruition. The reality that if you're black in America, you are still counted less than a human being. It feels like being black in America, you're still counted as 3/5 of a human being. One would think that the 3/5 compromise was not in affect anymore. Michael Jackson, God rest his soul, put out a song back in 1995 that says, "All I want to say is that they don't really care about us."

Proverbs 23:7a "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he" America has tried to push racism under the proverbial rug, but never bothered to address it. I watched this adult cartoon, Family Guy. On a particular episode they had a cut away where the slave owner told the slave he was free and then asked the slave, "So, we're cool right?" It feels like that's what happen after the civil rights movement. America to black people, "So, we're cool right?"

There's a Will Smith quote making the rounds, "Racism is not new, it's being filmed." That's facts. But even when it's not filmed, we should care just as much. People were mad at the group NWA back in the late 80s when the song, F The Police was released. Instead of looking into why the song was written in the first place, or listening to the rallying cry that the song was talking about, they got brushed off as just about of "thugs." Good thing that doesn't happen in 2020....cough cough. The world did to NWA what the church does to the world which is look at what they look like and what they're wearing and disregard them. Maybe the problem is not the clothes. Maybe the problem is the heart that's corrupt. 

Now some may look at me as a mixed man and ask why do I care? Why do I care about Blacks Lives Matter. Why I do I talk as if I'm a black man when I'm mixed? Well first of all, let's not act like being mixed is all Sunshine and rainbows. Let's not act like when I go out in public I don't get looks. Let's not act like when my parents were together, and we went out as a family, we got stared at like we were illegal. Like we were in South Africa during apartheid. I can remember when we would visit my Dad's side of the family in Kentucky, we'd stop at Wendys to get something to eat, and the atmosphere was scary. I remember feeling like I didn't belong. Kinda like I was counted as 3/5...yeah so that's why I speak up. I may not have had a bad encounter with the police, but that doesn't mean it can't happen. All it takes is one time. All it takes is one time for me to get pulled over by the wrong cop and all the sudden I'm a hashtag.

The church has been quiet on this issue for too long. The church has swept this under the rug for too long. It's time to speak up. It's time to say hey, enough is enough. It's to work the faith. It's time to as my dad would say, "Put feet on them prayers." How many more wake up calls do we need? How many more decades have to pass? How many more generations have to hear songs like "F The Police" by NWA or "Good Cop Bad Cop" by Ice Cube and say, "That's still relevant today." How many more moments do we have to get by? How many more deaths do we have to "get over?" When is enough really going to be enough? When are we going to stop hitting the snooze button on the alarm clock? When are we going to listen to the cries of the people and stop putting a pacifier in the mouths so they will shut up? 

This world needs hope. This world needs Jesus. This world needs love. Agape love. True love. That love of Jesus that we say we have? The world needs that. The world needs to see that. Put down the religious rule books. Put down the religious traditions, and show people Jesus. If Jesus gives you joy, why not present that to this joyless society? I'm tired.

I know it's not all police. I know it's not all white people. I know it's not all---but one bad apple...

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson