In the latest Washington Post, there is an article that explains the reasons that a female law enforcement officer did not draw her weapon when she arrived at the scene of a car accident. This officer was beaten and assaulted mercilessly, and that is quite unfortunate. No traffic stop or similar incident should result in such behaviors that lead to injury sustained by either party.
The question I am raising is how can an unfortunate incident, a civilian-innocent and unarmed- be shot dead thereby proven guilty before innocent? Charged, convicted and sentenced to death-in under 10 minutes. Judge, jury and executioner? That is, though, an entirely different scenario than this assault.
How does Ferguson, or any other city in which black men and women are killed by law enforcement officers relate to this?
Fear of the media? Why should anyone fear the media?
All they do is report the news as it occurs and tell more clear truths as a third party. Better to have your story reported by them than someone whose sole purpose is to justify their actions, right or wrong. Right?!!
Fear of the media-the all powerful media! I think not.
Law enforcement officers are now feeling the fear of uprising from the media, and therefore they must protect ALL lives in communities of color, as opposed to taking them “willy-nilly”[inadvisably]. If the bottom line is fewer civilian injuries and preventing needless deaths, and less arrests being made, then that is completely aligned with the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Stop killing and targeting African-Americans, black and brown people of color.
Let’s go back to Ferguson for a moment. A young black man was wrongfully shot and killed by police, and in this city, the people had enough. No more taking such treatment by this community. They were very angry, felt they had no voice because, surely they had protested over similar tragedies.
Be real, Folks! Don’t believe that that shooting was rare, ‘accidental’ or occurs only in Ferguson, Missouri, either. The citizens of that town were really angry. They were mad as Hell and vowed not to take it anymore. Thank God for smartphones!
The Reverend D. Martin Luther King, Jr. said this:
What the takeaway from this officer and police chief in Chicago was was that if weapons are drawn, the media would come and serve the proper justice. Hence, the fear of conviction by media, instead of death by cop or worse yet, trial by impartial jury.
If that is their takeaway, they have the right to possess their own. Then what is the takeaway for the families and loved ones of the innocent victims of recent killings and of past massacres, too? Historically significant is that the parts of America’s past that should be well known by all races and cultures, in their childhoods, is the part that illustrates the mass dehumanization of people of African descent. Also missing are the stories of the vast numbers of African-Americans who’ve made fabulous and vital contributions to society in spite of barriers.
This ‘Great'[referencing Donald Trump] American past is the foundation for what we still witness today, and black people have known and lived this for centuries now. Arbitrary killings of blacks is not new as it characterized our collective and national past.
In school, when children are learning about American history, somehow that part is left out. These are stories that must be told and taught when children are forming their worldviews-before they become shaped into sophisticated implicit bias. That we should fear.
If police men and women are people who grew up in this cultural backdrop of racism, they learn it and it follows them into the world- police officers, bank tellers, medical doctors, judges, housekeepers, athletes, everywhere. Does it not make sense that if we are taught while we are young the real truths regarding history, we gain better understanding of how it may relate to the present?
What must be acquired is the empathic awareness that will influence the decisions we make, the attitudes and beliefs, expectations and values we possess.
When we know better, we do better. But if presented with the same injustices of the past, there comes a time when someone will scream out- ‘enough’ because of the perpetuated negative stereotypes, presumptions of guilt, deficits, and limited potential perception.
In this country, we have to tell these omitted stories, and really listen, engage in two-way communication and eliminate the fear of the media, or fear of the police, or fear of young men of color,… Get over it, because the life you save may be your own or your child, or someone you love.
All black children MUST learn about themselves, their place in history, ancestry, or the historical significance of people who look like them. Dismissing those truths is ridiculous, shameful, and purposefully cruel. It’s abusive, but no one takes children out of these environments, as they are removed from homes for neglect and abuse.
In fact, most young school aged children only are taught about the lives of 5 people, from prek-12th grade, and besides sports figures, rap artists, or prison inmates, they have no place in society. How can we expect engagement, achievement, to aspire to college, to not fear death-yours or their own?
Why does almost an entire group of people not fear, respect or trust police?
They represent those persons who treat them worse than the teachers in their school, that’s why. They’ve heard too many similar stories, and 99% of them are negative. Why do they attack those who are supposed to keep or restore calm? The reasons are endless, but maybe not. They My concern is whether we will accept another blame the victim excuse to side-step a phenomenon greater than this ‘Ferguson Effect’. That is the Jim Crow Effect! And the result of systematic dehumanization. Let’s discuss this one, shall we!
Read the Washington Post article here:
http://link.washingtonpost.com/click/7812435.35092/
DIVERSITY University 