Perspective: Dallas, USA … 5 Police dead … Is Not Surprising … We Regret Deaths

What a birthday gift for America!

Background

Seventy four (74) arrested (by police) during demonstrations over the killing of two black men by White police officers under controversial circumstances. This led to mainly widespread yet peaceful demonstrations nationwide. Dallas’, however, has been deadly.

In Dallas Texas some (5) five police Officers shot dead allegedly by a black sniper. Seven (7) other police and two (2) civilians reported as being injured in said attack. The alleged attacker was killed by a robot with a bomb attached, that was remotely detonated.

On July 4, 2016 Americans celebrated their birth as a nation. It is ironic that the USA got its independence from Britain after a bloody civil way that culminated with an Independence Declaration in 1776.

After 240 years many Whites seem to refuse to accept Blacks as their equals. Over the years since independence, there has been bitter conflicts, lynchings, literacy tests, pole tax as apparent obstacles to deny blacks the right to vote.

This was an apparent grand scheme imposed by whites coupled with a refusal to see blacks as equals by not allowing full voting rights to blacks. It was only 1964 that a Civil Rights Bill was finally enacted that blacks had all legal impediments removed to them voting.

Blood spilled all over the world. In France as they too had their Revolution in 1789. They beheaded their Queen Marie Antoinette by the guillotine at the peak of the violence.

“It was the best of time, the worst of times” …stated Charles Dickens, a journalist and novelist, in his book the Tales of Two Cities written in about 1775. He was referring to some of these incidents as he saw/ experienced them.

Jamaica

Jamaica in contrast in 1961 after a Referendum in which the people voted to leave the West Indian Federation and opted for Independence in 1962 was peaceful. We did not fire a shot and no blood was spilled. Jamaicans did not follow the examples set by others.

We demonstrated our maturity by opting for peaceful negotiations instead of bloody confrontation with Colonial Britain.

Jamaica has since 1944 made provisions for Universal Adult suffrage. The right of all to vote after reaching the legal age is guaranteed as long as you are not in prison.

The slogan: “Black lives matter” has come to characterize the treatment meted out by whites to blacks, especially white police officers when dealing with black suspects.

If you feed people with a diet of hate … you cannot expect to reap love.

Race Relations

The loss of lives is tragic but the long term damage to race relations will not heal in a hurry.

We do not condone violence and solemnly regret the loss of all lives and hope good sense will prevail.

“There is no super race” Hitler was wrong. Let us respect each other and live in harmony. All lives matter.

Hopeton O’Connor-Dennie is Senior International Correspondent & Photojournalist for Vision Newspaper Canada