Today I’m on The Good Men Project trying to understand what it must feel like for parents of African American sons. I am horrified of a world that can be so cruel.
http://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/the-reality-in-america-that-is-more-prevalent-than-most-white-people-see-medler-jrmk/
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Author: joejmedler
Joe Medler lives in New Jersey with his wife, who is universally understood to be far too good for him, and his two young sons, who are far too smart for him. His work has been featured on MamaLode, The Original Bunker Punks and Sammiches and Psych Meds. You can find more of his work at https://developingdad.com/ and follow him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/developingdad
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developing dad 
but why
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Thanks. I see it too and don’t know the solution to a belief that has been baked into this culture since the first African slave set foot on these shores, that Black + Male = Danger. It is so deeply embedded that it is no longer a thought except when stated as propaganda, but a feeling of unease, a tightness in the gut, a quickening of the heartbeat, a narrowing of the eyes. I was not taught it explicitly as a child. There was no ranting about “those people.” Still, I felt it and had to ask why and where it had come from, and build for myself the feeling of its injustice to counter it. I see it when I notice that if a police officer stops me driving, when he comes to the window to talk to me his gun is in its holster, and so often when he does the same with a Black driver, his gun is in his hand. Does he see why that is, that difference based only on the fact that I am labeled “White” and the other “Black”?
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Thank you so much for this very thoughtful feedback. I have two older brothers that are black and this reality, that they were and are unfairly treated by the world at large and law enforcement in particular, is one that was always evident to me, but seeing it has made it so much more devastating. Implicit bias is in all of us. Acknowledging that is the first step.
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Reblogged this on cabbagesandkings524 and commented:
See it
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I am going to reblog this post Joe, on lisapomerantzster.com.
TY!
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Thank you, Lisa!
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Reblogged this on lisapomerantzster: Are we there yet? and commented:
I see it too.
We have to stop.
We have to come together.
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