It all Matters

This will piss some people off. 

In America, I am Black first. As a result, we tend to codify many things by race. It is a travesty, though, to contrast the media coverage of the Paris terror attacks and the Kenya University shootings as a function of race. I realize that doing so, for some people,  is an avoidance of a collective social hurt. 

There has been a war on Christianity since the crusades. It is not new  is certainly independent of color. In all likelihood, the shooter in Kenya was black. This does not make it un-terrible.

What happened in France was also independent of race. The news reported two Americans died. I saw one  man who was as at the Stade show his almost-wound. His phone saved him. He was black. He was also African. And French.

What happened in France is better compared to 9/11, when we, Americans of all ilk felt suddenly naked as the terrorist attacks stripped the proverbial wool off of our western sense of security and safety we enjoyed. We mistakingly believed that our lifestyle was above what we saw in other places. Like 9/11, the attacks in France were an attack on our basic freedoms as Americans.

We believe we have the right to go the movies, a sporting event, walk down the street or enjoy a meal in our favorite restaurant without fear of being caught in the middle of someone else's fight, be it a drive by shooting, or a statement about perceived persecution in another's homeland, or just be killed because of the church we choose to worship in. 

The Battle of Yorktown reminds us that without France, there would would be no United States. 

"In Yorktown,  the British could  not retreat, surrounded by Washington and the French fleet. Cornwallis surrendered  and finally we had won."

(Yeah, American TV)

To be sad and angered about the events in Paris is to stand with a friend. It is no different than having your friend's back in a neighborhood brawl when you are ten. That friend is your friend until the end, because at one point they have done that or will do that for you. To stand with Paris is to stand against an assault on the way of life we enjoy in this country.

To compare the two is to compare apples and tires. 

It is not a black or white thing. It's not even a class thing. 

Yes, I am black. (I'm sorry, I'm not African-American. I'm an American of probably mostly African descent.)  I am angered by the social and racial injustices against people of all genders, races and religions across the globe.

It is an American thing.