On the meaning of ‘belligerent’

Recently, a political opponent described my opinions as belligerent. When I complained to the press that their complaints and description of my opinions were without merit or proof, instead of correcting the story or asking for more proof of my belligerency, they suggested that I write an opinion piece. So here it is.

I come from a long line of ancestors who have stood up for their rights and were leaders. A paternal ancestor was born into slavery and was freed by a presidential act and became a leader in the fraternal organization the Odd Fellows. Another ancestor was a runaway slave who fled to Canada and eventually returned to the states after the Civil War to became a leader in his church. I had a great uncle who during the Depression was killed by the police in Derby/Ansonia, an upandcoming boxer who was beat and thrown into the river to die. My wife had family who in the late 1800s had property stolen from them by white relatives, fought the thievery all the way to the South Carolina Supreme Court, which decided they were not eligible for the property because their mother was black. My maternal ancestors, former slaves, were some of the first blacks to register to vote in Virginia. My father was a Korean War vet who became a Black Panther.

Today, every day we read about a black citizen who is denied their basic civil and human rights because some person believes they are some sort of threat to their way of life. Driving, eating, barbecuing, riding a bike, being a 12yearold playing in a park, and even playing video games while in your own home while black has put us in jeopardy of being jailed or killed.

All these people were deemed a “threat.” Often when a black person speaks their mind or has an opinion, they are described as threatening, menacing, aggressive, or as I have been recently described, “belligerent.” And it doesn’t matter what your station is life might be. You can be the local hobo, a 12yearold child, the pastor of a church, or the elected leader of the school board. We are all the same if we are a black male, we are a threat. Many citizens saw President Barack Obama as a foreigner who was a threat to our country.

Recently, the leader of a parent group, a white liberal, described me a belligerent. That term comes with so many negative connotations and was meant to defame and minimize me. Another way to define belligerent is to use the word aggressive. Why did they feel I was a threat? Simply because they didn’t agree with my opinion and thought that was the best way to dismiss my viewpoint. Would they have described me in those terms if I were a white male or female? Probably not. How many black men have been put in jail or killed when described that way?

The worse part of this episode is that this white liberal woman was able to go to the newspaper and get them to print an article where I was accused of being belligerent. They didn’t have to provide evidence of the belligerence, they didn’t have to produce any witnesses to my aggressive or threatening nature. All they had to do is get on the phone and have their Becky moment, and all the sudden they were elevated to victimhood.

As blacks we have become inoculated to this sort of abuse. We see it all the time and even are embarrassed to complain about it is because it is so common. Of course, media always has that one black participant who is the “angry black man or woman.” We are not supposed to get upset when an officer tells us to get out of the car with our hands up, and then shoots us because he sees our hands up as a threat to his safety. Why should we get annoyed when a Becky suggests that we are ignorant or belligerent when we argue an opinion opposite of theirs? And of course, when the media elevates Becky’s fears and ignores our truths, why should we be angry at this injustice?