What she recorded was horrendous, but she "prejudiced the jury." Watching it, I began to judge her

Contributed By:Dorothy Nevils

Last week a Black man in Charlotte was shot and killed by police. This happens much too often, and people, raw with injustice, are understandably outraged. A young woman, purportedly his daughter, videotaped the aftermath, making it available to everyone. I watched as much as I could, but finally turned it off because of the language.

What is happening to people of color is horrendous. It is scary. My own son was profiled this past winter and when he shared what had happened, it left me shaking, so I can only imagine the pain of actually witnessing death by those sworn to protect; but, as I said earlier, I could not stay with her in her pain because of her language.

Too often people don’t consider the impact of words: They attract, and they repel. They bring in, and they push away. I couldn’t “hear” her because I couldn’t listen. When I tried to listen, all I could hear was what she said, over and over and over.

“MF” is an indictment that has nothing to do with the argument the young woman was trying to make. It takes attention away from the injustice we are decrying, and places it all on her. Injustice does not need diversion. It doesn’t need division. It doesn’t need splitting, or divvying up. It needs to be the focal point, so clear that every eye, every ear, every witness can discern it, shining as concisely, as singularly, as precisely as a laser beam.

Focus. Focus. Don’t get sidetracked. Perhaps we’ve forgotten the 60s, the orator who put everything on point. We must remember that too many distractions cause refraction. It allows people who weren’t quite sure where they wanted to go to jump off the train at the wrong station.

That is what the daughter did. Her obscenity appealed to an audience with no real power, no real means of abating this disease, an audience with a violent mindset. Mobs don’t get things done, just undone, which, you may think is progress.

Unfortunately, power to destroy is not the power that builds something to last. It’s like a weapon that explodes in one’s face, injuring the one holding it, not the target.

What should she have done? If she could not at that moment say what needed to be said, she should have pushed the mute button. What she recorded was horrendous, but she “prejudiced the jury.” Watching it, I began to judge her. She was a “side issue”; she should not have been.

This is something we need to keep in mind: Don’t let your children become “speechless.” Insist that they learn to communicate. Start at an early age. By example, teach them to formulate a message, and how to share it with others. Too many people think that mastering the language is abandoning their heritage, being untrue to oneself and one’s friends.

It is not. If you were playing basketball, would you go onto the court wearing galoshes, fishing boots, or even house shoes? Even untied laces would put you at a disadvantage… and not just you, but your whole team.

There’s a resurgence of hate these days. You know the phrase, “Play to win”? “Say to win” works when we’re looking for allies.

Story Posted:09/30/2016