Part of the solution

This post was inspired in part by all of the anti-Ferguson posts I've seen and in part by an article I just read about Mike Brown's dad partaking in a turkey giveaway.  I've noticed that many conservative people have reacted to all of the events in Ferguson by posting videos of looting and arson or articles talking about black-on-white or black-on-black crime.  I've seen all kinds of criticism being thrown around.  I have decided that the response I wish to give is that of a positive light shed on the black community--highlighting those persons in the community who are working to make a better world for themselves and for all people.  

I wish to explain my reasons for this.  The first is that, upon seeing all the negative posts, I have asked myself "What do you mean to accomplish by sharing this?  What is your point?"  There may be many reasons that people (honestly, it is mostly conservatives) choose to post the negative aspects of the protesting.  The first possibility is that they are racist.  This may be the case for some of the posts, but I believe it is probably not the main reason for most of my friends whom I have seen posting things of that nature.  The second possibility is that they feel attacked as white people when the suggestion is made by the black community that they (black people) are being oppressed.  This is common whenever a privileged class is faced with the reality of its privilege.  The reaction is to defend oneself with articles that show that there are cases of reverse discrimination or to indicate that many of the cases of claimed discrimination are in fact due to some other factor.  

Yet another possibility is that they want to exhibit a "whole picture" of all of the events.  They feel like only the "black people are persecuted and angry about it" story is being told and the other aspects (like the fact that Mike Brown did steal from the convenience store) are being ignored.  This is the possibility I wish to address, as it is the most pertinent to my current thought.  Great.  Let's tell the whole story.  Let's get all of the facts out.  Let's show everything that's going on.  And part of that whole story is that most black people just want to live a normal life.  They are very good people who go out of their way to do good things for others.  They are trying to set a good example, trying to live an upright life.  They have talents that they want to share with others and make the world a happier and more peaceful place.  This is the part of the whole story that I wish to emphasize.  So I would like to share stories to this end.  I would like to highlight those efforts made by individuals in the black community.  I have linked the story about Mike Brown's dad.  That's a good start.  I'll be sharing more in the near future.

Why do I feel this is a good measure?  What do I hope to accomplish?  My goal is simple.  I want to help construct better relations among the races.  I want there to be more mutual understanding and less tension among persons of different races.  I want to see people view each other as fellow human beings more and as black/white/brown/etc less.  I want to help my white friends see what good things are being done by those of other races, and how they are working to make the world a better place.  Perhaps we can be inspired by them and make our own efforts more concerted in achieving better harmony and equity.