Solace what makes this incident racist, is that there is a very long history of the police killing, hurting, harming unarmed black people and the courts and all-white jurys failing to convict. I know that some probably think: well, black people are committing more crimes, so they get more mistakes from police. There is an element of truth to that. BUT, if that were totally true, you'd see these types of things happening to white people occasionally too, and you do not. White people do actually commit crimes, they do hang out in strip clubs, and they do end up in dubious situations, but the police do not imagine them reaching for guns and do not squeeze those triggers as fast or as furious when the 'perp' is white. The police do not use this kind of force against white people, 50 shots? 41 shots? Plungers up the ass? How many times does this type of thing have to happen to a black man, before we establish that it is a racist pattern?
What you have to also take into account is cases like the Rodney King case, of which there are far too many. Cops abuse authority, it gets caught on tape, they move the trial to an all-white area, and an all-white jury acquits. How is that possible? Racism makes it possible, there simply is no other explanation. White people, who invariably make many of the same arguments that many white people here are making, consistently fail to see a crime when the victim is black, because they shouldn't have been at a strip club, they had criminal convictions, they were angry on the stand when they testified, they talked funny, etc. In sociology this is called blaming the victim. Its like saying a woman got raped because she dressed provocatively. That is blaming the victim and not the rapist.
One of the things Rudy Giuliani used to do (a person who you probably dont think is a racist and I do) is find out if a police victim had an arrest record and then immediately release it to the press, all while saying dont rush to judgement. NO we shouldn't rush to judgment and you shouldn't be releasing people's sealed juvenile records when they were victims of a shooting for NO REASON AT ALL (Patrick Dorismond, for example).
Well black or latino men killed by the police are victims who are blamed, when its on tape, when they had no reason to be stopped, when they were trying to get married, when the cops weren't following procedures, there is virtually no scenario were a cop can be prosecuted for killing a black person as long as he claims he was afraid, [sarcasm]and you know, who wouldn't be? they were black?[/sarcasm] Part of the reason that stuff flies is because there is the presumption of guilt with black males. Young black men aren't looked at as regular people, by the courts, by the media, and by society at large, we are easy to demonize. We are already demonized. People see me, a large black man with braids and assume I'm a bad person. I can't get a cab, I get followed in a store, white women clutching their purses, etc. These are just regular people whose prejudices make them see me in a negative light for no reason other than my blackness. Nobody thinks, he's probably really smart, he's probably married and a great father to his kids, no one sees me and thinks that, if they did, white women wouldn't be clutching their purses in elevators.
So when I talk about racism, it isn't just about hating black people, its about seeing black people as something other than how you see yourself. Just different, not like you, not as good as you. You dont see their humanity, so their lives dont have the same value. Oh, he has a prison record so his death at the hands of police isn't as tragic. Or worse, maybe he even deserved it because he had broken the law in the past. If white people imagined rodney king was their drunk uncle, or Amadou Diallo was their son, there would be a different reaction. But again, white people and black people have a very different relationship with the police and with each other and because this is such an incredibly segregated country and city (again a legacy of racism) there isn't a great deal of social contact between races, even today. This is how racism is perpetuated, it is no coincidence that the city and country are so segregated even today.
With police brutality, beyond the shootings and beatings, there is a very long history of mistreatment, neglect, indifference, and blatant, overt racism from the police, towards the community. It is an age old problem. History establishes that this is a pattern and not an isolated event.
So yes, these things always boil down to history, and they boil down to a history that most white people are unfamiliar with, and are so uncomfortable with that you get lashed out against and lambasted for bringing it up. Mainstream media promotes a white washed view of history and current events so that when something is brought up, it is so foreign and outside of the white experience, it is as if I have created these stories out of my head for a novel. White people would really rather not deal with it or think about it and I suppose thats cool, but to tell me essentially that I'm being emotional, and things never happened, is an insult that is kind of like telling me, I'm stupid, not bright enough to know what has happened in my life and in my community, and that you know these things and this reality better than me. Its an incredibly arrogant position to take about subjects (black life/the ghetto/racism/police brutality/discrimination) that you know so little about. I am not mad at you for saying the things you are saying, although I must admit I am shocked by the arrogance with which you have made some of your assertions. But like you said earlier, I am learning about a whole new perspective by talking to you and I appreciate you having the courage to say what you say, because i know there are many others who quietly feel similar. I am not trying to guilt you out or ask for an apology, I dont want that, I just want to continue to have an open and honest dialogue with you. No matter how crazy I think some of the things you say are!
Sorry this is so long but lastly when i said:
How does a white person come to know how prevalent racism or discrimination is or isn't in society? How would you know it? If a gay person was on the board talking about their experiences how would I judge whether they were accurate or not, if I'm not gay, and I'm not studying the research on gays and discrimination? How would I have the first clue? You and many other white people on this board have some very strong views about racism, its existence, how overblown it is, and yet I can't for the life of me, figure out how you all would have any accurate answers about this.
this is probably the most important thing i can say. Because this is a starting point, because honestly, the average white American does not know, and should not pretend to, and should not really be forming strong opinons about something they know so very little about. If this can be established, then I think we will be getting somewhere. If we can establish this, I can begin to make my case about racism using mainstrem resources.
[Edited by - killa4luv on 04-29-2008 2:20 PM]
