Even as children, everyone knew that "Good Guys" wore white and "Bad Guys" wore black.Many in today's world will say that "Bad Guys" are white and "Good Guys" are Black. (Or vice-versa)
But the recent rash of police shootings of unarmed Black males is more rooted in the Fear of a Black Man than in just being a racist.
Do you really run from the police for fear of being shot?
Nope... me neither.
These shootings were also class issues.
Or perception issues.
Race is only part of the equation (Okay...a large part. Factors like unfamiliarity and under-training being others.) in these shootings.
Black has always been a harbinger of bad tidings.
Even in the simplest of nursery rhymes - black is bad.
Even Deuces affect a stilo (estilo) similar to Black gang members, in their efforts to obtain a level of Street Cred.
(I am assuming that everyone can remember the rantings of Martin Lawrence's character in Boomerang or the first teachings of Malcolm X while in prison - Blackball, Blackmail, etc...)
To tell the truth... I'm more in fear of a Black cop trying to prove that he treats all perpetrators equally by being tougher on another Black person.
Police misconduct is nothing new. (Just Google "Police Misconduct" - there are too many links to list here.)
In fact, it's fairly common.
But add to these under trained and fearful officers the image of a Black male,
and what do you get?
A police shooting of an unarmed Black male.
But how much of this negative perception is brought on by a certain segment of our population being infatuated with portraying the "Gangsta" image?
Do many cause the Fear of a Black Man to become heightened by their inability (or lack of desire) to acculturate to their new environment?
What I'm saying is; Race wasn't the sole motivation in these shootings.
Doesn't matter whether what you're saying is true or not, Mother fuckin police should be professional, period! Whether they are extra fearful or whatever. It's one thing to get in some extra shots at the end of a pursuit, quite another to shoot an unarmed brotha, or anybody else for that matter.
ReplyDeleteHow about the police try acculturating themselves to the communities they serve? Police departments in our country put a badge and a gun in the hands of power tripin, twenty somethings that only have to have a high school diploma and maybe a couple of years of work experience in their own community. How about sending these idiots to college or something so they can at least interact with people outside their own ethnicity and community. I believe this would be of great benefit merely from a socialization perspective. It just seems criminal to me that you can put people with, likely, a fairly narrow perspective on things, , out on the street, with a badge and a gun to regulate without having a greater degree socialization and expansion of views and perspectives. And if you're 35 yrs old, with the same views that your Mommy and Daddy gave you, that's no different. Not saying that school is the only answer, but if you don't know any Black folks, or Hispanic peeps, or interacted with people outside your own ethnicity or socio-economic class, you have no business trying to patrol anything. These Police simply don't value the lives they are taking so callously because they don't relate to these individuals at all. And, yes they are fearful of them as a result of that same lack of exposure.
Bottom line, these incidents mostly stem from race and, in part, some of the other factors you mention, but that's all moot. If Police are professionals, competent (this includes being sufficiently socialized and familiar with the people in the communities they serve) and carry out their duties in a professional manner, then there's no problem.
DPizz said: "Doesn't matter whether what you're saying is true or not, Mother fuckin police should be professional, period!"
ReplyDeleteI agree. I used to hear people say the police are the biggest gang out there and it's sad to say it seems true. They are taking it to a whole other level and declared war on the black man. What ever happened to diversity training? It seems as if they are trained to believe the myths and the stereotypes and to shoot to kill and don't even bother asking questions. Why bother when you can just take a paid leave and not serve time for murder?
I have to partly disagree with Dpazz. The Police are no longer the high school graduate with visions of granduer. All police must now have a college degree and visions of granduer. I have a very good friend that wanted to be a Chicago police officer but in the end he was turned down. Not because he was not qualified, not because he was not fit, not because he was not stable, but because as the city called around to his contacts and basically asked if he would talk first or shoot first he was removed from consideration. Corey is the most decent and patient of people and while I think he would shoot someone to defend himself he would probably not draw first.
ReplyDeleteNow you have people coming beck from war suffering from PTSD and with all that in their systems they are patrolling the streets after having being taught to kill first and kill some more second.
You cant untrain a killer and that is what the military teaches you to do. Me or you , us vs. them does not go away because you get dismissal papers
In all these years, have ya ever heard of a cop shooting an ARMED Black Male?
ReplyDeleteMe neither. Them thug-ass cops is skrate punks who should be summarily and publicly executed when they cross the line. It's the state's duty to put on a good show and use the zapper.