Amidst the headlines, I havent said much. As a business owner I always hesitate to weigh-in. Maybe that makes me a sell out. But I felt inclined to say a piece. If youre going to read it, please read it all. Dont take segments out of context. When I was about 6 months pregnant my husband and I were living in Vallejo. Over the course of four days, two unarmed black men were shot in that town and one died. We had a few conversations over the years about being afraid of police, but, after those particular incidents, and others as well, we had a very blunt and real conversation. I remember asking him, What can you do to be sure you wont be killed by a police officer? Is it safe for you to reach for your wallet or your registration before the officer gets to your window? I feel like maybe you should just place both of your hands outside the window right away and keep them there until he gets to you. No sarcasm involved. I literally made him agree to do that if he got pulled over. (One of the men killed in Vallejo that month was reaching for a metal wallet.) Lets talk statistics. In 2012, 136 unarmed black men (no weapon at all) were killed by the police. Thats 44% of the total 313 black men that were killed that year by police. Im not trying to villainize police officers. Im not even implying that these officers are consciously racist.These are statistics. Ill be happy to link you to the study. So, why does this happen? Harvard has had an ongoing online test for years that gauges your implicit association meaning, your unconscious and immediate judgement about people based on race, age, gender. Etc. What theyve found is an overwhelming preference for white faces in America and that black faces are overwhelmingly more likely to be associated with concepts like fear, danger and violence. This is a HARVARD test thats been around for more than 10 years. You can take the test yourself, Ill provide that link as well. As my feed is inundated with counts of what many feel are unjustified acts of violence against people of color, I have also seen people defending law enforcement, or placing blame with victims. True, theres two sides to every story. But we know, from data, that UNARMED blacks are killed by police and security guards FAR more often than whites. We know from data that there is a lightening fast reflex in most of our brains that associates black faces with negative concepts. Do I think these cops are going home after work and having a White Power meeting? No, not at all. Of course not. The problem is much worse than that because it lies in the unconscious feelings that most whites have towards blacks-Gut reflexes they may not even realize are there, and so cant address, are unwilling to address, and dont even know about. So, maybe its time to start figuring out how to reverse the cultural conditioning that leads to these snap judgments. Maybe instead of laying blame, we should start looking at how media, music, entertainment and advertising portrays people of color, and choosing to TURN OFF programming that reinforces negative stereotypes. We need more black police officers and judges. I dont have all the solutions but I wont pretend this isnt a real problem. The black community is angry and in fear. Im in fear. When my brother-in-law (black) goes to a local restaurant and they refuse to take a $100 bill from him that I gave him from my BANK, but he and his black friends are too afraid to press the issue because they fear what will happen if the police are called, that makes them afraid. When they are leaving the parking lot of that restaurant and a group of whites drive by them yelling, go home jungle bunnies that makes me afraid. When I feel compelled to discuss strategy for not being killed by law enforcement with my husband (who hasnt has so much as a speeding ticket in the 10 years weve been together) I am afraid. I could go on and on. Ill close by saying, this is not an eff the police status, and if I see any of that ignorance in the comments, Ill delete it swiftly. I have much respect for law enforcement, but I cant ignore an obvious problem.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 06:15:15 +0000
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