Quick poll! Scroll down for results: Youve just come from a dentist appointment and youre waiting for the bus. Two men get into an argument and one shoots the other one. Do you: A) Run away, because youre sane and want to preserve your life B) Stay where you are and hope the gunman doesnt notice you, because youre sane and want to preserve your life C) Dont know, because this would never happen to you . . . . . . . . . If you answered A, chances are youre white! No brainer - all you gotta do is get out of there! If you answered B, chances are youre black, or unable to run away. My 14 year old friend who is six feet tall and black knew it was dangerous for him to be seen running from the scene of a crime, so he sat and waited. In plain sight of the gunman. Having witnessed the shooting. Do you get that? UNDERSTAND THIS PLEASE: Our black boys would rather take their chances with random shooters than with cops. Please let that sink in. #Ferguson If you answered C, chances are you are quite wealthy or quite rural, are never are exposed to the daily inconveniences and in some cases danger that comes with taking public transit, and never have to make these kinds of calculations, for yourself or the young people in your life. It may also mean you have no idea how to gauge dangerous situation and perhaps think all people of color/people with certain accents/poor people are dangerous, because you dont know any. Capitalism + racism = segregation and inequality. Jump the fence in your own mind. Get out of your bubble. You dont have to go an expensive service learning trip to somewhere tropical. Just walk two miles in the wrong direction and pay attention. Please. You could even start doing it regularly. Go and notice. Maybe even talk to people - ask them questions, learn. If enough white/wealthy/otherwise privileged people did this my young friend wouldnt have to choose between risking getting shot by cops or getting out of harms way.
Posted on: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 21:27:22 +0000
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