Apology accepted. Now let's talk about where you screwed up.

Because you screwed up. And you don't understand that you screwed up, which means you'll screw up again.

You didn't write "where you're at." You didn't write "where I see you." You wrote "this is where you claim to stand based on your post." That's called "distancing language." I said something, and rather than accept that I said something, you phrased your response to suggest I'm a liar.

Now how 'bout this?

I dont actually know you... You could very well be a model citizen and even do a better job at the items I think and feel should happen, but I do not feel this makes my points illegitimate at large, which is the P.O.V from which I am trying to write.

It does, though.

See, your every move has been to invalidate my opinion until I got up in your grille and said "stop fucking invalidating my opinion." Your defense for invalidating my opinion is "I don't...know you" and you "didn't think it offensive to restate the position that I've observed you take." But you're NOT restating my position. You're denigrating my position. You're demeaning my position. You're sweeping my position under the rug because rather than give me the benefit of the doubt, listen to me at face value, or presume that I might actually have an opinion worth acknowledging, you presume that this is the internet and the only position that matters is yours.

No, you don't actually know me... but you know the words I've put onto this page. That's enough. You can accept them as sincere and we can have a discussion, or you can argue that because news is on a cycle everything everyone else says is invalid.

Which seems to be where you're going.

"News" means "information that is new." That's why coverage of every recent black brutality gets buried in triviality - otherwise we'd still be outraged about Medgar Evars and Dred Scott. Besides which, this isn't the news. This is a small community directly conversing about this subject. Here we are, outraged. here we are, engaged. here we are, sympathetic and here we are, talking about it.

So why do you keep throwing "the news media" in my face?

You're not "personally admonishing" me. You're negating everything I say and using me as a proxy object to vilify the nameless something out there that perpetuates racism and violence against blacks. And that's the discussion to have: How is it that I, a person who can have a conversation like this, can wake up and express sympathy and concern only to not want to address racism?

'cuz that's what's happened. I woke up dismayed at more cops doing more inhuman bullshit only to be told it's my fault, I can't be trusted, I'm responsible for the news cycle and I should feel bad even though I've never even been to South Carolina.

This is how racial divides happen. Next time? not gonna say a goddamn word. If I can't even have a sympathetic opinion without being to blame, I'm gonna keep myself to myself because that's the least conflict for me.