Could the Ignorance of the Human Factor Cause Us to Lack Compassion

One of the factors that many of us seem to forget is the one factor that is often times over looked and is the most inconsistent part of not only the way we see things but the way we reaction to things. This factor is the “human factor” and when I say human, I mean human. We as individuals reaction based upon the knowledge that we have about any subject and since the bulk of that knowledge comes from our experience or what we have been taught at one point in our lives it is also gained from what we have been exposed to either directly or indirectly. Direct exposure tends to lend itself to something that we know and sometimes will not only base our existence around but flatly refuse to change or modify that stance for any reason. Indirect exposure is malleable and can be shaped by thoughts or opinion of others so it could be fluid and quickly changed or modified.

Our divine over this George Floyd murder and many of the other atrocities when it comes to the authorities’ heavy-handed approach to equal justice is greatly affected by both the direct and indirect exposure human factor piece of this. If the experience of being followed around in a store, pulled over for some unknown and unexplained reason, singled out in a club when there is an inquiry about obtaining drugs, stopped on the street because you fit the description, over looked for a job on the basis of not have the experience and finding out that the new hire to that position has less experience than you do, these and so many many more is not any thing you have experienced directly then you may not ever understand when those who have been attempt to explain or complain about them. Because you have never been directly affected by these and so many others, you may find that you have very little, if any compassion or empathy, for those complaining or explaining at all. The opposite is often times found to be the truth when you have indirect exposure. You have seen it with your own eyes or read several accounts. Even though it did not happen directly to you, your eye witness of these acts left you with a very uneasy feeling when it was over. It plays sometimes in your mind and within the very depths of your soul, you know what you witnessed was wrong. At this stage, the human factor kicks in and offers you two choices, you can follow your gut and take a stand or you can run and hide from what you know is true because you might fear repercussion or retaliation more. Just be acutely aware, when you run away, you are not only running away from that particular situation but you are ultimately running away from who you truly are and make no mistake, when you run away from who you are, you will not get far before that debt will become due and nothing will ever feel or taste the same until you resolve this.

There is a divine between black folks as to how they are honoring George Floyd and those opposed point to his criminal record as the reason they feel he should not be shown as a hero or martyr. Now even though many who feel this way have indirect exposure to ever feeling like being unjustly approached or slightly accused of wrong doing with only a suspicion as the basis. With that as the backdrop, can you honestly expect for them to see what you see if your exposure to the very same thing is more direct exposure? And if this is true for black folks, can you now not see why it is even more problematic for the other races of people with that same indirect exposure. Many times, there is an unseen and unspoken connection between the black races and other minority races, including a part of the white race commonly referred to as “white or trailer trash” because of this shared direct exposure. Personally, I believe that George Floyd’s murder may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back but if one is looking for a face to place upon all of this real movement to real change, it should be Colin Kaepernick.

Consider this as an example of what I mean when I say the difference between the direct exposure human factor piece and the indirect human factor piece. Was at work yesterday and had a white gentleman ask the question of how did we know it was about race since the officer who had his knee on the neck of Floyd did not say that he did it because he was black. Now if that is the insurance needed by those indirectly affected, then that may never happen because it would mean that the officer would have to publicly admit he stayed perched upon the neck of Floyd because of his color, how many of you can see that happening? Another question asked by another white gentleman was how did we know it was about hate? My answer to that is, supposed you and a brother or family member was play wrestling and you ended up in a situation where your knee was upon their neck. If they told you then that they could not breath, what would you do? Both these questions did not come from racist people but people with no direct exposure to what happened and was attempting to learn. These efforts should be applauded and not dismissed because if they are willing to ask the honest questions they deserve nothing but honest answers. If it is your goal to have real change, it begins with honest answers to honest questions and the remembrance of what part the human factor plays in our every day lives.