Not everything is a stereotype…

By now I’m sure you’ve heard about the incident with the Moats family…NFL player prevented from saying goodbye to his dying mother-in-law, the officer’s gun being pulled, the officer ego tripping, the police chief’s statement, etc....



Earlier this week, the couple, Ryan and Tamishia Moats, appeared on “Good Morning America” and talked about the incident. First of all, I was pleased to see another example of black love on display across the nation, albeit under heart wrenching circumstances. As Robin Roberts, asked the questions we wanted answers to, the Moats responded with grace and dignity, and said that they forgave the officer and will accept a personal apology (I may be paraphrasing but here’s the link to the interview http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Health/story?id=7204226&page=1).

Now I first heard about this incident last week. I saw the headline on a message board that I frequent, but skipped over it because I didn’t want to know the details of the depressing story at the time. I knew that it would make headlines and that I’d inevitably see it again. And I did. A few days later I went to get a haircut and it came on the television in the barbershop just as the barb…excuse me…stylist started working on my sideburns and neck with the razor. It was a lesson in self-control and self-mastery to say the least. The sounds of Ryan Moats’ pleads and frustration made me hot inside…I needed to do something…join in on the conversation about the incident with the other patrons, or tell what I would do if I’d been in the situation. But I couldn’t. Half of my face was covered in shaving cream and the other side was under a razor. And so the heat festered…and I had to fight back tears that decided they wanted to show up for the event as well.



I’m glad to say that I controlled my emotions during that experience. Not because I was afraid I was breaking some “Man” law, but because I need to learn to remain impartial when dealing with situations like these that I may come into contact with in the future when I begin my career. So, I capped off what I was feeling and slipped the emotions I was feeling out of me…bit by bit.

I have to give it too the Moats. If I was prevented from being at the bedside of a woman who was like a mother to me over some bullshit it would have take me a long time to remember was forgiveness is. (Of course I say that because it hasn’t happened to me and hopefully it won’t.) But with that stated, and after being in a state of spiritual vulnerability and being surrounded and uplifted by those with compassion on reserve, I probably would have been just as forgiving to that ass. I think I also would have rested well knowing that vengeance is the Lord’s and my, my, my, didn’t that officer get what was coming to him? Child…

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/sports/football/Most-Hated-Cop-Speaks-Out-on-Moats-Traffic-Stop.html

This blog was inspired by a discussion a friend and I had on the recent film “The Secret Life of Bees.” Now it was no masterpiece by any means, but I found it to be a charming and sweet (no pun intended) cinematic experience, and for the most part didn’t have any complaints about it. However, the friend that I was talking to about the movie thought otherwise. She is a woman of substance and supports causes to uplift the black community so I listen to what she has to say and welcome the intelligent discussions that we often have. She stated that the film supported the stereotype that black people are forgiving…now you know I looked at her sideways when she said that. “Forgiving…what do you mean by that,” I asked.



POSSIBLE MOVIE SPOILERS
She went on to explain that realistically black people wouldn’t act like the characters in the film. They wouldn’t be so forgiving as to allow a little white girl to live with them whose actions were associated with the death of their loved ones and so on and so forth…
END OF POSSIBLE MOVIE SPOILER

Of course I thought about what she had to say…and pondered the things she said; mainly that one of the stereotypes about black people is that we are a “forgiving” people. I don’t think that’s a stereotype. I believe it to be true. After all the shit the black race has been subject to we still are a forgiving people…and this could be related to the strong influence of religion and spirituality in our lives. More importantly, I think we all know someone who will remind us that we will be consumed by our hatred, feelings of victimization, and feelings of being slighted when we fail to remind ourselves of this time proven theory. Furthermore, the Moats…after their ordeal…forgave the officer who acted like and ass and kept it moving because they knew in the end that forgiveness was their strength, the past could not be changed, and that comeuppance would be just around the corner.