By Dr . E . Faye Williams
By Dr . E . Faye Williams
National Chair , National Congress of Black Women
am comfortable with the fact that most of my
friends come from varied and divergent backgrounds . The perspectives they bring to our relationships are based upon their many experiences . My friendships afford me the opportunity to develop a synthesized and broader understanding of life that would not be available to me within the simple confines of my own experiences .
In the face of the current culture wars related to the resolution of gun violence , I benefit from opinions that come from a friend who believes in nothing less than a total disarmament of the general public , as well as a friend who ' s made a career in the military and who places personal self-defense and Second Amendment rights among his prime considerations and values . These opinions meld with those I developed from my upbringing in rural Louisiana and some of my sociopolitical experiences - like my exposure to the Deacons for Self-Defense or the non-violent teachings and activities of Dr . Martin Luther King , Jr . and others who share his philosophies .
Like most other Americans , I realize the answer to the question of gun violence is not a simple one . I ' ve seen the acrimony that overwhelms this discussion and I wonder if it is reasonable to think that our society can reach a consensus in the resolution of this question . With millions of other Americans , I wait anxiously to see what opinions will prevail in the legal response to this problem of gun violence .
While uncertainty rules the legislative outcome of any resolution , I am certain , for effective change to take place , we must first address the normalization of violence within the lives and character of members of our community . For positive change , we must first acknowledge that , for many , violence is a first choice in their personal strategy for conflict resolution . We
The Violence Within Dr . E . Faye Williams National Congress of BlackWomen must reverse this " first
Orlando choice of
, violence Florida
" with the introduction and acceptance of a personal belief system where violence becomes a last resort
July 2013
.
Among other acts of wanton national violence , this past week in Washington , DC , thirteen citizens were gunned-down in a drive-by shooting . As I write this , complete details of this event haven ' t been released ' but , it seems there is no rational reason for such an act . There ' s no excuse for endangering human welfare on that scale . What ' s more shocking than events like this drive-by is the tacit acceptance of such action as routine .
Although events like this drive-by receive the lion ' s share of our attention , I believe they draw our focus away from the logical starting point for a change in our national ethic of violence . While focusing on the more dramatic , we minimize the significance and impact of the gateway violence of verbal abuse , child abuse , bullying , hazing , domestic abuse / sexual assault ( of which I , like many women , am a survivor ) or many other forms of violence that are commonly practiced .
For the Black community , some will speculate that the internal violence we experience results from the legacy of violence associated with slavery . History tells us of the belief that the best way to achieve compliance from a Black person was with a strap or beating . Although I don ' t accept this as a good explanation of our current circumstance , I have seen sufficient evidence not to discount the desire for compliance or submission as a possible goal of violence .
I ' m weary of seeing Black mothers on television lamenting the loss of a child . I long for days past when a main goal in our community was acting in a way that would protect us from violence . God knows we ' ve suffered external violence for too long . I pray for a time when our community will renew the high regard we once had for the sanctity of life - especially our own .