When sifting through the news today I came across an interesting editorial by a man named LJ James.
It was on the topic of the Mongols loosing the right to wear their patch and the potential ramifications to other groups and communities. I do not know much about the history of the man who wrote the article other than he is a member of an MC. 1% or Outlaw - I know not.
No matter his membership and the viewpoint from which he writes, he brings up some concerns and questions that I think have some merit and validity that will be overlooked and discounted by many because of the patch he wears. Here is the link to his editorial... http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=49606286&blogID=443277492
As I said, one has to look at what he says and understand the perspective he has on this subject, and even though he slightly exaggerates the rate about things like "We hear about Drug dealers, Rapists, Murderers in the National Football League and in Major League Baseball everyday."
He still makes some points that warrant looking at.
Read it for yourself and then tell me what you think. I for one can see some situations that could arise and none of them are very savory. What's your take on what he's saying?
Then there's this piece entitled "Lousy Cop" I came across it when reading A Cops Thoughts Blog.
I found it incredible to read. I know many of you have heard the video or read the poem "Just a Biker" if not you can see it on our web site at www.beltdrivebetty.com
"Lousy Cop" is written in more of a conversational style and it brings home something about human nature that we all must examine in ourselves...escpecially when you look at all three perspectives and see the similar vien and thread in them all - While "Just a Biker" is more about dealing with our safety - the feelings and impressions of being discriminated against are very evident.
How is it, we can know how it feels to be discriminated against and yet - we discriminate.
I know I have. Having been a rape victim, I can tell you quite frankly that I have discriminated - I have in the past tarred all those who wear red or yellow stripes down their leg as potential threats to me and treated them as adversaries. I based my attitude on how one of the 90 or so thousand Canadians who wear those pants treated me.
It took me a long time to be able to deal with that segment of our population in a rational manner. I had to learn to look at the individual rather than the clothing in order to come to a place where I didn't blame or mistrust every one them - especially the males.
Today I am a rape survivor. I no longer look through the glasses of the victim I once was.
Today I have adopted an attitude of always striving to remove preconceived notions out of my head when dealing with people from different communities.
How many times are our assumptions about other people wrong or off? I know that I have harshly judged a person who didn't deserve it. I did it because one person from his community hurt and insulted me. I had to get over it - I still have to remind myself at times to look at the person - not the clothes.
There are other things that I do and sometimes say thoughtlessly...and I have hurt the feelings of others needlessly - I hope that someday I will get to a place where I am always balanced in my approach to dealing with others.
So where does prejudice and discrimination come from?
Fear of the unknown and personal experience.
We tend to ridicule and fear things and people that we don't understand.
We also tend to tar entire communities over the actions of one. And when we see similar actions in others of that same community - well we tend to put the tar on just a bit thicker. 1 bad experience leads to mistrust....two or three makes us get out that old tar bucket and point accusatory fingers at entire communities - 10 or twelve experiences of similar nature get us up in arms....why? Because we internalize everything. We look at it in the microscopic - we don't look at the big picture.
We forget that the guy next to us is JUST as human as we are - he is just as susceptible to making mistakes as you or I....
It is one of the hardest challenges we face as human beings - learning how to open our hearts and our minds before we judge some one - when we learn to judge the individual by using our gut and not preconceived notions - When we do decide a person is a threat to us we need to realize it is the individual who is the threat - not necessarily the whole community.
There are situations where judging someone in an instant is more than acceptable behavior, its called survival. But there is a difference between the two and common sense needs to be used. But again, as part of the human condition we are ruled by our emotions more often than not and therefore we do not approach certain situations from the position of logic.
When you figure that there are 6.7 billion or so people on this planet and you accept that most of us are going to make mistakes or have had bad experiences that will taint our interactions, none of us is perfect or living without some kind of baggage......
How we deal with each other as individuals is what's reflected around us in the world....
Its human nature.
From one extreme to the other and even in the middle - there is fear, anger and contempt towards those who have caused pain. Here I have given you the example from an MC Members point of view, from the every day riders point of view and from the police services point of view- read them all and then tell me something - are we really all so different from each other?
Its minus 12 with 4 Cm's of snow on the ground here so I am NOT riding.
If you are lucky enough to still be riding, please - Ride like they are out to get you.
Belt Drive Betty
It was on the topic of the Mongols loosing the right to wear their patch and the potential ramifications to other groups and communities. I do not know much about the history of the man who wrote the article other than he is a member of an MC. 1% or Outlaw - I know not.
No matter his membership and the viewpoint from which he writes, he brings up some concerns and questions that I think have some merit and validity that will be overlooked and discounted by many because of the patch he wears. Here is the link to his editorial... http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=49606286&blogID=443277492
As I said, one has to look at what he says and understand the perspective he has on this subject, and even though he slightly exaggerates the rate about things like "We hear about Drug dealers, Rapists, Murderers in the National Football League and in Major League Baseball everyday."
He still makes some points that warrant looking at.
Read it for yourself and then tell me what you think. I for one can see some situations that could arise and none of them are very savory. What's your take on what he's saying?
Then there's this piece entitled "Lousy Cop" I came across it when reading A Cops Thoughts Blog.
I found it incredible to read. I know many of you have heard the video or read the poem "Just a Biker" if not you can see it on our web site at www.beltdrivebetty.com
"Lousy Cop" is written in more of a conversational style and it brings home something about human nature that we all must examine in ourselves...escpecially when you look at all three perspectives and see the similar vien and thread in them all - While "Just a Biker" is more about dealing with our safety - the feelings and impressions of being discriminated against are very evident.
How is it, we can know how it feels to be discriminated against and yet - we discriminate.
I know I have. Having been a rape victim, I can tell you quite frankly that I have discriminated - I have in the past tarred all those who wear red or yellow stripes down their leg as potential threats to me and treated them as adversaries. I based my attitude on how one of the 90 or so thousand Canadians who wear those pants treated me.
It took me a long time to be able to deal with that segment of our population in a rational manner. I had to learn to look at the individual rather than the clothing in order to come to a place where I didn't blame or mistrust every one them - especially the males.
Today I am a rape survivor. I no longer look through the glasses of the victim I once was.
Today I have adopted an attitude of always striving to remove preconceived notions out of my head when dealing with people from different communities.
How many times are our assumptions about other people wrong or off? I know that I have harshly judged a person who didn't deserve it. I did it because one person from his community hurt and insulted me. I had to get over it - I still have to remind myself at times to look at the person - not the clothes.
There are other things that I do and sometimes say thoughtlessly...and I have hurt the feelings of others needlessly - I hope that someday I will get to a place where I am always balanced in my approach to dealing with others.
So where does prejudice and discrimination come from?
Fear of the unknown and personal experience.
We tend to ridicule and fear things and people that we don't understand.
We also tend to tar entire communities over the actions of one. And when we see similar actions in others of that same community - well we tend to put the tar on just a bit thicker. 1 bad experience leads to mistrust....two or three makes us get out that old tar bucket and point accusatory fingers at entire communities - 10 or twelve experiences of similar nature get us up in arms....why? Because we internalize everything. We look at it in the microscopic - we don't look at the big picture.
We forget that the guy next to us is JUST as human as we are - he is just as susceptible to making mistakes as you or I....
It is one of the hardest challenges we face as human beings - learning how to open our hearts and our minds before we judge some one - when we learn to judge the individual by using our gut and not preconceived notions - When we do decide a person is a threat to us we need to realize it is the individual who is the threat - not necessarily the whole community.
There are situations where judging someone in an instant is more than acceptable behavior, its called survival. But there is a difference between the two and common sense needs to be used. But again, as part of the human condition we are ruled by our emotions more often than not and therefore we do not approach certain situations from the position of logic.
When you figure that there are 6.7 billion or so people on this planet and you accept that most of us are going to make mistakes or have had bad experiences that will taint our interactions, none of us is perfect or living without some kind of baggage......
How we deal with each other as individuals is what's reflected around us in the world....
Its human nature.
From one extreme to the other and even in the middle - there is fear, anger and contempt towards those who have caused pain. Here I have given you the example from an MC Members point of view, from the every day riders point of view and from the police services point of view- read them all and then tell me something - are we really all so different from each other?
Its minus 12 with 4 Cm's of snow on the ground here so I am NOT riding.
If you are lucky enough to still be riding, please - Ride like they are out to get you.
Belt Drive Betty
It seems to me that no matter what side of the fence you're on, discrimination runs rampant.
ReplyDeleteIn Australia, for example, Clubs banded together to fight a government plan to ban them. Hells Angels, Bandidos, Finks, and a few other Clubs, set aside their differences for a day in order to make their views known to a committee of officials and lawmakers.
Law Enforcement personnel say that governments tie their hands when it comes to crime fighting.
And on it goes...........
When one of a group gets charged with a crime, people on the outside of that group immediately tar that group with the same brush that should be reserved for the individual. Sad, but true.
I don't care what organization anyone belongs to.....Bikers, cops, church, the Bar Ass'n, lawmakers..........there are crooks in all walks of life.
There are also a hell of a lot of good folks out there.
It's just really hard to go against human nature and see the one, instead of the whole
H