Posts tagged COMMUNITY

National Commemoration of Steven Lawrence

Here goes another rant. I cannot believe the type of ignorance that is continually displayed by individuals who should really know better. These people are in no doubt educated. But as my mother used to say, street wisdom and book wisdom are not the same. This rant comes out of overhearing a conversation about the National Commemoration of murdered London teenager Stephen Lawrence. It seems as though certain individuals cannot pull their heads out of the privilege derriere to consider the pain and struggle the family must have gone through over the 18 plus years to have justice over the racially driven murder of their son. Aside from the complete lack of compassion, it was clear that they lacked information about the events that led up to the decision announced on the 23 Apr 18.

What shocks me the most (although I have experienced enough of these ignorant and privileged conversations to know better) is that the individuals involved were not only mature but had a career that gave them the opportunity to travel and experience life outside of their country. Isn’t travel supposed to open your eyes? One of these personnel has a job that requires them to be culturally aware, literally. The Shock!

As much as much as we are all “entitled to our opinions”, it does not equate to being disrespectful. It is important that we listen not just to have a comeback but to understand.

The Impact of the Case on UK Law

It is 2018, education is at the fingertips of almost every individual. Yet we seem to be further away from wisdom and knowledge of one another. So for the people who clearly do not understand why and what led to the National Commemoration of Stephen Lawrence here are a few reasons why this was done. However, I cannot help but notice the convenience of this announcement after the disgraceful Windrush situation. Just like David Lammy said “if you lay with dogs you get fleas”

  1. This case was a cause celebre and one of the highest profile racial killings in the UK history.
  2. This case also contributed to the cultural changes within the police departments and attitudes towards racism, the law of police practice.
  3. It also led to the partial revocation of the double Jeopardy laws.

It took them over 18 years, 18 years before only two of the five suspects were convicted of his murder.  As well as this, the police department instead of focusing on the suspects chose to waste resources to smear the name of the family. Just for one moment, put yourself in the shoes of the parents and tell me that this is OK.

The Impact of this on Young Adults

Looking ahead, it is important to acknowledge the impact this will have on young adult within the British community and even those across the world. I hope for it to encourage us to speak up on social injustice, using our voices for change. For such a tragedy to fall on the Lawrence family, with sheer determination to remember and uphold the memory of their son, they have been able to gain a positive outcome to help young men within the society through their charity.

Well What About this Person??

For those who are comparing Steven Lawrence murder to Kris Donald. The suspects were caught, investigated and convicted within the space of two years with the trial lasting no more than six weeks. It is explicitly obvious that the same level of care and dedication was not given to the murder investigation of Lawrence. In fact, Lawrence case was likely to remain unsolved had it not been for the parents’ campaign and Nelson Mandela’s involvement.

Someone also asked the question, if he was “white” would he have gotten the same attention twenty-five years later? To this I ask, would it have taken 18 years and two police enquire for the murder investigation to be solved if he was a white Kid killed by a black gang? Would three of the five suspects still be at large twenty-five years later? Would the Metropolitan Police force have wasted money and resources to discredit the family as they did to Mr and Mrs Lawrence? If Steven Lawrence was a white kid, would these individuals be so up in arms about this National Commemoration day? Last but not least, If Steven Lawrence was your child would you be so quick to discredit this decision?

Further Information to Familiarise Ourselves With About This Case

Here are a few things I suggest to those who still do not understand the impact of this case to familiarise themselves with.

  1. The Steven Lawrence Documentary
  2. The Lawrence enquiry carried by Sir William Macpherson (1998)
  3. Seven Seconds (Not related to the Lawrence case but a great watch nonetheless)

It has never been more apparent to me than now how much we lack empathy as a human race. Real and True Compassion causes action. I really would like to advocate that before we make comments on such sensitive situations we really take the time to understand what has actually occurred. Last but not least let us educate ourselves. Ignorance is not bliss after you pass a certain age, it just another way of expressing stupidity. We should all be for Justice no matter who it for or against. This is our community after all.

INNER CIRCLE – WHO IS IN YOUR COMMUNITY

We are all part of a community in some form. As wide as our nationality and ethnic background to as small as the company we keep. A community gives place for us for to feel valued, to be a part of something. The people in our community are relatable and gives place to have a listening ear. A community is defined in the Oxford dictionary as “a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals”.  The internet and social media have enabled extending our community to people we have never or probably ever meet. Nevertheless, we feel just as connected to them. The communities we are in greatly influences who we are or become. To that end, we can see the importance of the mindset of those we have in our community, especially within our closest circle.

INNER CIRCLE #Community 

#growth

I am currently watching the series of Inner Circle by Transformation Church headed by Pastor Michael Todd.  By the title, you can guess this series is about who is in your community. This raised a few questions for me. Does your inner circle of friends, those who really know you, have to be on the same wavelength as you, be it religion, race and even sexuality?  Being a Christian is a very important part of my life. I have had to ask myself, how do I make sure that I surround myself with like-minded individuals?  Those who will help me grow in my relationship with God, encourage me to pursue my dreams and correct me when I am wrong in love. In the same way, I am to not neglect the importance of building a rapport with those that are different from me in whatever respect. To remove any confusion, when I say like-minded, it does not equate to always being in agreement with me but the share of belief in God and Jesus Christ. Before you get your knot in a twist, this does not exclude those who do not uphold the same Christian belief as me. Not all of my closest my friends share my Christian faith. However, they are still able to support in their own way and respect my choices and vice versa.

Show me your friends and I will show you who you are.

Friends

As the saying goes,  your inner circle of friends reflects who you are. This is something that I heard a lot growing up. As the world shift into the notion of self-care and self-love, more of us have become cautious of the company we keep.  In one of Les Brown speeches, he states “if you hang around with nine broke friends, then you are or will eventually become the tenth broke friend. It seems that the world is trying to tell us that the company we keep will impact us in some way no matter strong or set we may be in our ways.

Unequally Yoked

Unequally Yoked

What does this famous Christian saying really mean?  Oprah Winfrey talks about removing oneself from those that do not contribute to your growth. Most motivational visit this topic in 99% of their talks. As new as this seems to be, there is nothing new under the sun. In the book of Corinthians, Paul gives instruction to not participate in unequally yoked relationships.  How many times has an adult felt the need to tell us to not mix with the wrong crowd? I have often been defensive as I felt my parents and the adults around me were being quite judgemental. They also needed to trust that they had raised me well enough for me to make good decisions for myself. I am not easily swayed by those around me. Thinking about this now I realise in some ways how immature I actually sound. Because most of the time, the influence occurs subconsciously, no matter how well nurtured you are.  I invite you to pause here and reflect on this; has there been a point where your views and actions have changed about a particular idea you grew up with based on the people, movies, books or anything you interact with on a daily basis. If you answer is yes, did you notice when it happened? Was it sudden or a gradual change?

As important as I believe this to be, it is very easy to obtain a self-righteous aura or unintentionally make people feel excluded. It can become easy to be caught up in the same circle of friends because you share the same interest. I went through a stage where I was really caught up in the whole church vibe. For a while, I did not pass on invitations to a close friend of mine because I felt she may not feel necessarily comfortable within such programmes.But in doing so I took off her, the chance to make her own choice.

Love your Neighbour as Yourself

who is your neighbour

So when we come to the commandment of love your neighbour as yourself, do you wonder who your neighbour is?  If not can you love someone fully but have distinguished beliefs about certain aspects of their life and vice versa?  I like to think that it is possible.  For example, I know my mother and I do not agree with everything but I do not doubt her love for me due to this. And no this is not justified because she is my mother. She does not have to love me. There is this concept of “if you do not fully accept someone for who they are then you cannot truly love them”.  But I beg to differ. Love, Like and Infatuation should not be confused as one accord. For If that is so, then the question remains; do you accept anything and everything because it pleases the individual or can you be honest with yourself and the person about this difference? This difference I am referring to does not have to fit into the bracket of negative or positive; it can just be that; a difference! It could in mindset, raising kids, values, morals and the list goes on. Let us not forget that Honesty is the best policy in every case. The truth is brutal to hear and the delivery must be done in love. The intention must be genuine and for the best interest of the receiver.  We should not compromise in friendship what would not be willing to compromise in a relationship. Let your Yes Be Yes and your No Be No.