Zach Freshley, you touched my heart with this amazing piece. One of the books that I have read that has made a huge impact on me is Trauma and Recovery from Judith Herman and the reason that I bring this up is that she explains how after a people are traumatized you have to create safety because otherwise there are those who will try to drown out their voices by denying the trauma. I see all these comments from John Koudela III which are exactly what one says to deny another’s experience. It doesn’t just happen to black people, move away you have options, you are overreacting, everyone else cares but they don’t make a fuss like you and blah and blah and blah. Its the same thing that rape victims get told, you should have dressed differently, why are you still angry, You shouldn’t have been drinking and on and on. The repetition of the comments is like a relentless drum trying to drown out your voice.

Ignore it, black people have been traumatized and have a right to their feelings. Peace