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An unarmed college student who had just been on probation for drugs, who rammed his vehicle through a dealership gate, who jumped up and down on a car to break the windshield so he could get in it, who drove his vehicle through the plate glass window of the showroom, who refused police instructions to get on the floor when they arrived, then ran and who was probably as high as a kite and dangerous. Likely turned on them. But of course he's a good Christian, an innocent schoolboy, an unarmed victim
of his own criminal behavior.
I would love it if all the apologists for criminals actually had to deal with them for a while. Lots of lessons would be learned.
Kathryn, I have seen many threads over time here where you discuss your biracial children. And the way you characterize their experiences with other "black" people. You often mention, while your children are perceived as "black" they do not act like "regular black people," highlight the "differences" between your kids and other black folks.
Since for me, the definition of racism implies power, it is technically impossible for black people in the US to be "racist." But we can absolutely be prejudiced, bigoted or biased.
I am not racist, but I definitely have biases. I am working on being conscious of them. I know I can be classist, as my lens of experience is framed by growing up middle class. I am also slightly xenophobic. We are talking about racial biases here, but I know I also struggle with "gender non-conformity." I am also very very aware of colorism, as I am at the darker end of the spectrum.
I also tend to stereotype people, and put them in a box. My boxes include characteristics beyond race, ethnicity, class and education and roll in hometown, clothing style and a host of other things.
I am a product of our society, and we are trained to be biased. For me, the best course of action is to be aware when I am thinking in a biased way and try to counteract that. It is not wrong to have bias, it is human nature, being aware of it is half the battle.
One of the most passive-aggressive personal attacks ever written on CD. Congratulations.
Hey, speak for yourself. I wasn't raised that way.
And half my family is African American so I know a little bit about the topic at hand. Oh - and all my kids are considered African American (they're actually biracial but most people consider them AA). Spare me the lecture about racism and society.
I know that racism exists (in every subgroup by the way) - but I also know that my kids, who behave themselves and carry themselves with dignity and who lead responsible lives, are not mistreated by the police or people in general.
Maybe you think your kids will never be treated this way, but....
Lawrence Otis Graham on November 6th 2014 confessed to the Washington Post, and therefore to the nation, that, “I taught my black kids that their elite upbringing would protect them from discrimination. I was wrong.”
Quote:
his 15-year-old son was still called the N-word by Whites! In broad daylight! At a leafy New England boarding school! The White gentlemen were not even drunk. His son had done nothing wrong. Nothing!
A police officer from West Hartford had pulled up across the street, exited his vehicle, and begun walking in my direction. I noted the strangeness of his being in Hartford—an entirely separate town with its own police force—so I thought he needed help. He approached me with purpose, and then, without any introduction or explanation he asked, “So, you trying to make a few extra bucks, shoveling people’s driveways around here?”
Neil DeGrasse Tyson has talked a lot about the casual racism he experienced at UT. ("I was stopped and questioned seven times by University police on my way into the physics building," he said. "Seven times. Zero times was I stopped going into the gym — and I went to the gym a lot. That says all you need to know about how welcome I felt at Texas."
''I've been stopped twice by the police for walking,'' said Mr. Perryman, who has lived on Mercer Island for 20 years. ''The last time, not long ago, was while I was walking to lunch.''
Think about the native American carver (actually one who was quite famous in the area) who was killed by police walking across the street with a whittling knife (he was deaf and did not hear the police telling him to put down his knife) or the elderly black man arrested for carrying a golf club as a cane (the police officer was removed from street duty and she falsified her statements in the case).
Here is what I have learned. I can be super polite, super well-spoken and congenial. If I run into the wrong person, they will misconstrue and misread any of my behavior into something aggressive and react accordingly. It is really an example of how implicit bias works. This attitude is part of the same one that degraded black men to "Boys" and required black people to call all white people, including children, sir and ma'am.
I think people should be polite. But guess what, it is not illegal to insult or speak rudely to a police officer. And me, as a black person, being polite, doesn't guarantee that I'll be treated correctly.
It is illegal to insult a police officer, depending on how the insult is rendered. You can say "I think you are a pig" and you are covered by the US Constitution/Bill of Rights. You cannot say "You are a pig" because that is called slander and is illegal. Go ahead, walk up to a cop and say the first and they might argue with you but won't arrest you. Say the other and get ready for a ride.
An unarmed college student who had just been on probation for drugs, who rammed his vehicle through a dealership gate, who jumped up and down on a car to break the windshield so he could get in it, who drove his vehicle through the plate glass window of the showroom, who refused police instructions to get on the floor when they arrived, then ran and who was probably as high as a kite and dangerous. Likely turned on them. But of course he's a good Christian, an innocent schoolboy, an unarmed victim
of his own criminal behavior.
I would love it if all the apologists for criminals actually had to deal with them for a while. Lots of lessons would be learned.
It doesn't matter. That wasn't a crime punishable by death. All I want is due process for people. You don't have to be an "angel" to get due process, it is supposedly guaranteed by our constitution.
It doesn't matter. That wasn't a crime punishable by death. All I want is due process for people. You don't have to be an "angel" to get due process, it is supposedly guaranteed by our constitution.
Then he should have calmed down and let the police arrest him.
One less piece of garbage means one step closer to a safer America.
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