A Black Man's Perspective On Blacks Only Reasonable Response To The Denial Of Their Second Amendment Rights.

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(ThyBlackMan.com) For some reason, many are shocked to learn that the status of persons of African descent was a contentious issue among the inhabitants of the 13 colonies who would form this nation called America. Unfortunately for Africans and their present-day descendants on the North American continent, the alluded to debates usually occurred without the input of the subjects being argued over.

It stands to reason that within a nation birthed by genocide, war, and xenophobia that a significant portion of the referenced debate revolved around the issue of who should and who should not have access to guns. Much of this debate boiled down to a question of should black men be allowed to access guns. The pessimist among us articulate a daunting, yet supportable position that it is white authority figures who can allow or deny blacks access to guns. Although a daunting concept, history supports the assertion that the rights and privileges Black Americans exercise in this nation are allowed by a menagerie of white authority figures such as law enforcement officers, politicians, and judges.

Of course, this topic of black men, “law enforcement officers”, and guns is a prominent story is a fixture on every news cycle. The latest occurrence involving the murder of Emantic Bradford Jr. by law enforcement officers is merely the latest in a series of incidents.

In case you missed this most recent sordid tale, Mr. Bradford, a military veteran, was gunned down by officers in an Alabama mall for attempting to stop a mass shooting from occurring. Officers claim that they thought that Mr. Bradford was the perpetrator of the mall shooting and took definitive action to address him. This latest shooting raises familiar questions regarding Race, police, and guns in a nation whose 2^nd Amendment provides citizens the right to carry guns.

Daily Show host Trevor Noah addressed this matter with his usual accuracy in the following commentary.

At this point you start to realize that, really, the Second Amendment is not intended for black people. It’s an uncomfortable thing to say, but it’s the truth. People will be like, ‘the right to bear arms.’ Yes, the right to bear arms, but not if you’re a black man. If you’re a black man, you have no business bearing arms at all.

Noah’s commentary reverted my mind back to the words that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., articulated in his classic work Where Do We Go From Here?: Chaos or Community? In this masterful tome, Dr. King highlighted the significant difference between equality on the law books of America and the exercise of that theoretical equality. From the moment that the slave-holder Thomas Jefferson penned the words that “All men are created equal” it was obvious that there would be gaps in the rules governing this nation when Race was injected into the equation. The murder of Mr. Emantic Bradford, Jr., places the inconsistent application and exercise of the Law on full display.

Let’s be clear on this matter, the law enforcement officers who struck down Mr. Bradford knew that many of the “citizens” that they patrolled carried weapons on a daily basis, we must remember that this inexcusable incident occurred in Alabama after all. Witnesses stated that when the shooting began, several shoppers pulled out their weapons; according to the National Rifle Association, this is one of the foremost benefits of contemporary gun laws. Yet, only Mr. Bradford, a black man, was shot down by officers who although well-versed in the 2^nd Amendment were unwilling to apply such knowledge when confronting a legally-armed black man.

There is little room to debate against the reality that when officers encounter, a situation that I must add is much different from being confronted by an armed black man, their first, and seemingly only recourse is the application of deadly force. As Trevor Noah brilliantly highlighted in his monologue, there are no efforts to “talk down” and arrest black men as we have seen repeatedly with white mass shooters over the past century.

When the series of lethal shootings of black men by law enforcement officers are considered collectively, there is little room to argue against an obvious pattern.

Although difficult to accept, the choice placed before blacks determined to exercise their 2nd Amendment Right to carry arms is an unusual one. When one considers that the majority of encounters between armed blacks and law enforcement officers ends with the death of black men, women, and children by law enforcement officers who shoot first and ask questions later, it may be time for gun rights classes that include a portion that informs blacks that if they are confronted by “law enforcement officers” for any reason that it is imperative that they adopt the boys in blue mantra of “shoot first and ask questions later.” After all, “it is better to be judged by twelve than carried by six.”

Staff Writer; Dr. James Thomas Jones III

Official website; http://www.ManhoodRaceCulture.com

One may also connect with this brother via Twitter; DrJamestJones.

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Pelvo white, jr. says:
December 20, 2018 at 9:34 am
The last paragraph of this article is nothing but the truth. It ” is better to be judged by twelve than carried by six.” We have so many peace loving black men in this country who really don’t perceive that they are still viewed as an enemy by law enforcement even when they are attempting to do something heroic. I am convinced that most, if not all black men in America would follow the law if they were allowed to do so by being fully accepted as citizens of the United States of America, but we are not trusted by white Americans who are allowed to wear a badge, and carry a gun against us. Black men in America have been hunted by white men in America so long until our instincts should be almost those of a deer in the woods when we see one of them. I know that it is hard to believe, but there was a time when African Americans didn’t want white police officers in their communities. Our policy towards them was non-cooperation. We didn’t call them. We didn’t volunteer any information to them. We wanted only black police officers in our communities. Black men,all white and black cops should be viewed as suspect to being your murderer. The comedian Richard Prior’s words still ring true. He said in essence ” if you go down there to the courthouse expecting justice that is just what you are going to get, just us white people .”Black men and women were safer during segregation in America.