Don't know exactly what triggered accumulated, deferred rage. Was it:
*The media coverage of Republican and Democratic Conventions,
*the release of DNC emails during the Hillary Clinton Bernie Sanders State primary elections,
*shooting attack and killing of upon police officers in Dallas TX,
*the police killings of additional black men in Minn and Baton Rouge, LA,
*the appearance of the "Mothers of The Movement" at the Democratic National Convention to make them remember their children who had been killed by police
* the "Law and Order" rhetoric of Presidential Candidate of Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention,
*or the recent acquittal of ALL of the police officers in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray while in their custody in a police van.
New York Times columnist Charles Blow best summed up my feelings about the acquittal of the police officers in Baltimore in the case of Freddie Gray. He wrote:
"Yet another black man's body broken without anyone's being called to account, another soul lingering on the other side of the grave without justice on this side of the living. No officer has been convicted in the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, John Crawford III, Tanisha Anderson, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland and dozens more. Indeed, according to Mapping Police Violence, "only 10 of the 102 cases in 2015 where an unarmed black person was killed by police resulted in officer(s) being charged with a crime, and only 2 of these deaths (Matthew Ajibade and Eric Harris) resulted in convictions of officers involved."
Charles Blow described HIS state of mind in response to the Baltimore police officer acquittals as "Incandescent Rage."
Is there a state of mind beyond Blow's self-described rage in response to the recurring consequences of the pernicious virus of white supremacy from the institution of slavery so deeply embedded in our current body politic?
This brings me back to the the recent two party National Conventions in our nation.
There was discussion about Trade Agreements, National Security, a national minimum wage, heath care, the 2nd Amendment, our Education system, police and law and order, etc.
Why was there no platform from either the Republican or Democratic Party Conventions about our government, as nation, apologizing for the earlier institution of slavery and its companion doctrine of State enforced white supremacy on current and earlier generations of the descendants of slaves?
The relationship between the police and African-American communities is deeply rooted in our earlier history of police being law enforcement agents for State mandated racial segregation. Even with the Civil Rights Movement's dismantling of the worst of American Apartheid, racist based law enforcement continued for decades.
There is unlikely to be any fundamental change in the estrangement between many African Americans and the police until we as nation publicly acknowledge the devastating impact and consequence of slavery and it's infection in our body politic and institutions by the virulent doctrine of white racism.
The current nationwide relationship between the police and African-Americans must be confronted, addressed and fundamentally improved. Otherwise, the national plea for "Black Lives Matter" will fall on nationwide deaf ears within white communities across our nation.
This deaf ear response is not principally because of malice, but ignorance. It reflects a failure of whites in America to have a "Come To Jesus" meeting with their souls about the generational consequences of the earlier institution of slavery and it justifying ideology of white supremacy.
The failure of either major party, assembled at their respective National Conventions, to address and discuss these issues as a basis for their party's platform recommendations is an index or measure of just how far we as nation need to come to redeem our soul.
No "redemption" is possible without publicly acknowledging and speaking about the failure of either major party assembled in their respective National Convention to discuss these issues as a basis for a party platform recommendation to address the issue of race, racism and the police in our country today.
St. Augustine of Hippo reminds us that:
"Hope has two beautiful daughters; their names are Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain as they are."
I am personally struggling to retain "Courage."
My current state of mind of "beyond rage", however, regrettably continues, in spite of President Obama's upbeat address at the Democratic National Convention about how much progress has occurred in America during the 21st Century.
I remain haunted by Thomas Jefferson's reflection, as an owner of slavers, about the consequences of the institution of slavery upon generations after him. He said, "I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever."
I await the time when Black Lives will matter as much as Police lives do.