“He already has two strikes against him. He is black and he’s a man. I don’t want him to get that third strike.”
– Anonymous Mother of 14-year-old boy.
“I am so terrified. I know I can’t protect my son while he is out on the streets. I am afraid the police will take him… He is a good person… a college graduate…has a good job… but all they see is the color of his skin.”
– Anonymous Mother of 28-year-old son.
“When I kiss my husband goodbye, I tell him that I love him. I ask God to protect him and bring him home safely from work. When I hear police sirens, I can’t breathe, I can’t think. I am in hell. I can’t do this anymore!”
– Anonymous Spouse married 10 years.
My Dear Readers,
Once again, I find myself reaching out to you. I am not a prolific blog poster. I am extremely busy with my clinical practice. And yet in the last two blog postings, I find myself pressed to resume writing again.
In a recent post, one of my colleagues chastised me for my written views when I compared Jim Crow of the 1940’s to the lived experiences of African Americans in 2023. James Genovese, LPC, stated:
“While it is naïve to believe that all vestiges of racism and economic oppression have been eliminated, it is equally naïve to think that we are the same Jim Crow society of the 1940.’s.” (LinkedIn 06.07.23)
Recently an article in the Associated Press (AP) reported six White former Mississippi police officers pleaded guilty to state charges for torturing, sexually and physically assaulting two Black men. The AP story goes on to state that the six police officers entered the home without a warrant, handcuffed and assaulted the two men with tasers, sex toys, and other objects.
The news story added:
“In the gruesome crimes committed by men tasked with enforcing the law, federal prosecutors saw echoes of Mississippi’s dark history, including the 1964 killing of three civil rights workers after a deputy handed them off to the Klu Klux Klan… Prosecutors say some of the officers nicknamed themselves the “Goon Squad” because of their willingness to use excessive force and cover up attacks including the assault that ended with a deputy shooting one of the victims in the mouth.”
– Goldberg, Michael. “Six Former Mississippi Officers Plead Guilty to State Charges for Torturing Two Black Men.” Associated Press. 08.14.2023.
Repeated actions by the police that resulted in psychological impacts and traumas of previous generations are now being passed down to present and future generations. The result is these new generations “living in fear” as indicated by the three quotes at the beginning of this blog.
The common theme of the three quotes brings to mind the Greek myth, Sisyphus. He is cursed to roll an immense boulder up a hill only for it to roll back down each time it neared the top for eternity. Sisyphus’ rock represents mankind’s absurd dilemma, which is ultimately impossible to resolve—that mankind longs for reason and meaning in the world, but the world refuses to answer that longing. Hence, African Americans understanding the repetitive years of the dilemma of policing in their community longingly sought to have White Americans take notice and bring resolution, only to have been met with silence and failure with the result of continuing to “roll the rock up the hill”.
In my clinical practice, focusing on traumatology, a result of trauma can be one being reduced to a state of existing or surviving in the “Pit of Despair”. Therefore, after being subjected to the traumatic assault, the insult, intrusion, or incident, a permanent psychological wound develops, meaning, the traumatic experience never ever goes away. The problem may lie in the fear associated with the trauma or a similar trauma repeating itself or the inability to control the illumination of the new or reoccurring traumatic experience. So, the person begins “Living in Fear” of the next impending traumatic experience.
A clinical methodology of treating individuals responding to traumatic impacts is to assist individuals through the following:
- Clinical understanding of the permeance of trauma – trauma never, ever goes away.
- Teach skills in balancing the burden of traumatic impacts allowing the weight of such burden to become lighter.
- Provide a clinical methodology to transform the experience from existing and surviving the trauma impacts – Living in Fear, to growth and empowerment following trauma impacts – Living with Fear.
Transformation: From “Living in Fear” to “Living with Fear”.
The concept of Living in Fear is one where the individual during and following the traumatic incident is overwhelmed, drowning… driven to states of hopelessness, helplessness, and powerlessness. It is the individual’s finality to control feelings, thoughts and the external spaces surrounding one’s immediate environment.
The concept of Living with Fear is one where the traumatized individual, during and following the traumatic incident can achieve advocacy for self, balance with one’s emotions and calmness within one’s external environment.
Movement of the negative F.E.A.R. (states of existing & surviving)
- False – what is occurring is meant to deceive.
- Expectations – strong belief that something will happen.
- Assumptions – accepted as true or certain to happen.
- Real – actually existing or occurring as fact.
Transformation to the positive F.E.A.R. (states of growth & empowerment)
- Facing – confronting, dealing, and accepting a difficult fact or situation.
- Embracing – accepting and supporting a belief or change willingly and enthusiastically.
- Acknowledging – accepting and admitting the truth or the validity of a position.
- Responding – advocating, returning, and normalizing; preparing for fullness in the state of transforming.
Concluding Words
“I am invisible, simply because people refuse to see me.”
– Ralph Ellison, Author. “The Invisible Man” (1952).
My Dear Readers,
My experiences during my 70 years of living in Jim Crow America, have shown that regardless of my accolades, accomplishments, and achievements (and there are many), as stated by Ralph Ellison, “I am invisible simply because people refused to see me”. One individual, my esteemed colleague and PTSD psychotherapist James Genovese LPC, rather than seek to question the differences to his strongly held beliefs, he decided to hold on to an illusion and regretfully expose himself as not credible in his self-designation as an expert in PTSD. I would encourage him and any other colleagues seeking to understand the realities of Jim Crow in today’s era review the following readings:
- “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness” by Michelle Alexander (2010)
- “Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome” by Dr. Joy DeGruy, Ph.D.
“Our hope is we can put this unfortunate case of “wrong place, wrong time” behind us and continue to represent the community that we serve.”
– Statement by Lansing Police Department (08.13.23) following a police officer unholstering his weapon, detaining, and handcuffing 12-year-old black boy who the police “misidentified as an adult suspected of car thefts. The 12-year-old boy was in the process of taking out the trash to the dumpster when accustomed by the police.
In closing, it is apparently clear that when it comes to psychological incidents and traumatic intrusions created by today’s policing under the cover of “representing the community that we serve” will continue. The African American community continues to be caught in a dilemma similar to Sisyphus who is forced to roll a rock up the hill for eternity. Until assistance is given to stop the psychological intrusions, African Americans can mitigate the psychological impacts by learning methods that will empower themselves to live with the fear rather than live in fear.
The problem of transforming policing lies with those holding the illusion of Whiteness. The silence is loud and noticeable. As James Baldwin stated:
“They (White people) have had the belief for many years, and for innumerable reasons that black men are inferior to white men. Many of them, indeed, know better, but, as you will discover, people find it difficult to act on what they know. To act is to be committed, and to be committed is to be in danger. In this case, the danger is in the minds of most white Americans is the loss of their identity.”
– James Baldwin Author. “The Fire Next Time”, (1963).
Until the next time…
Remaining … In Our Corner.
Loving Me More 