NO PROTEST against Black Panthers ON MONDAY!! Instead we will… EXTEND OUR KINDNESS AND BE NICE TO THEM (read explanation below)

Kindness and Caring Rally from 11AM – 1PM on Monday in front of Public Library


I have received literally dozens of emails with ya’lls advice of what you think we should do on Monday when the Black Panthers come (thanks for the input).

On one hand there seems to be a consensus that we cannot do any kind of protest because no matter what we do, it is going to get twisted around as us against them and black against white. That is exactly what they want. They want it to turn into a black against white confrontation.

On the other hand, there is a feeling that we have to do something to show that we have a good city with good people because if the black panthers are the only ones that get the news time then it is guaranteed to be all bad press for Lumberton because we did not offer anything else.

So the dilemma…. How in the world do we do something that supports our city and makes us look good and at the same time not at all getting confrontational or even giving the slightest hint that we are there to protest the panthers.

Well, the answer is we show up in front of the public library right next to the police station and we do not hold signs or say anything at all. We simply have a big banner that welcomes anyone to our community and we have little flyers that offer our prayers and deepest sympathy for the family who just lost a son and we offer prayers and our deepest sympathy for the officers who are going through a tough time now and we give everyone water and cookies and we, through our actions, show them that we are a caring community with no racial tensions. Think about it. We could hold signs and things get ugly and we are twisted around to look bad…. But what if we were just nice and offered water and cookies to everyone there and welcomed them to our community and welcomed them to see for themselves that we have nothing against them and welcomed the investigation results (knowing it will exonerate the police officers of course) If we were just nice like that there is NO WAY they can twist it around to look bad and they might even leave here with a good impression about how nice we were to them even though they expected and wanted us to get upset with them.

Trust me, I am all about standing up and going toe to toe with anyone and everyone if that is what is needed. But that is not needed here and in fact that would be probably the wrong thing to do in this situation. I think we send out a stronger and more powerful message by not saying anything and just welcoming them and being nice to them. We will show them we are a kind, caring community, because the fact is we are a kind, caring community.

So how about it. We show up a little off to the side away from any confrontation and we bring a big banner that extends kindness and give them water and cookies and offer our prayers and sympathies for both the black side and white side.

So 11am we can start showing up in front of the public library and bring water and cookies and bring your smiles and we will show them who we are with our kindness and show the media what Lumberton is all about instead of allowing them to twist our town into a racist, hate filled community.

Contact me if you want to help out because I will need it! I think this can be a very good thing!

If you don’t want anything to do with any of this, I totally understand and that is just fine!!:-)

No Children! And if you do not think you can stay smiling and be nice even when they start screaming is is probably best if you don't come. And there will be no arguing or debating of any kind. Only offers of prayers for both the man who died and the officers who are involved. And of course expressing a speedy investigation and autopsy results to clear all this up quickly.

Sincerely,
David Bellow