"They're symptomatic of a broader set of racial disparities that exist in our criminal justice system." -President Obama
The Washington Post started keeping track of numbers after the shooting of Michael Brown in Missouri. Here are some of their results.
In 2015 they recorded 987 victims of fatal police shootings. White victims made up half of that number while blacks were 26 percent of the victims.
The U.S. population is 62 percent white while 13 percent is black. The Post goes on to say that unarmed black men are seven times more likely to be shot than an unarmed white man, though not for lack of trying. Several unarmed cases involved the "victim" trying to obtain equipment off the officer or getting something to use as a weapon.
Turn that situation around. According to one author's research, the Department of Justice released a report in early 2015. The report reveals that a police officer is 18.5 times more likely to be killed by a black male than an unarmed black male is likely to be killed by an officer. It also said that black and Hispanic officers were more likely to shoot unarmed black suspects due to "threat misperception," unlike their white counterparts. Threat misperception is the false belief the suspect is armed.
The Black Lives Matter movement is not always a peaceful group of people protesting "institutional racism." The comments on Twitter, calling for "pigs in a blanket" and cheering on the sniper in Dallas, are the scary side of the movement and of "black America." Officers in Phoenix had rocks thrown at them and heard people yell that they should shoot the police that were there. And then people wonder why Baton Rouge officers are in full riot gear: They're scared for their safety.
The sniper in Dallas is another example of media manipulation. Headlines stopped mentioning he was black as soon as it came out that he was an Army veteran with a tour of Afghanistan under his belt. "Veteran" evokes the image of a heavy middle-aged white man, not a young 25-year-old black man. He wanted to kill white people, specifically cops, and there is reason to believe he had larger attacks planned.
What is seen in the media, however often it may show up, does not reflect the majority opinion. The events shown are considered newsworthy and garner more attention, that's just common sense.
A white man killing a black man is okay but if their skin is reversed, then it's perfectly justified. That is what the population seems to believe and woe to the person who stands in their way to "voice" their outrage. The clear double standard is scary, insulting, and absurd.
Not all black people are thugs, not all police are corrupt, and not all white people are racist. All of those go both ways.
A shout-out to Lillianna Byington is deserved for her article on USATodayCollege. She remembers her father telling her classmates that, no, not all cops are good. Not all people are good. "Yes, there are problems with the system that need to be addressed. But hate doesn’t solve hate." Life matters. Protecting people and each other matters. Not everyone is a good guy, but there are more good than bad.
Dylann Roof, the shooter of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston last year, specifically stated he wanted to start a race war. He didn't get what he wanted in South Carolina because they reacted with peace, love, and forgiveness. They wouldn't give him what he wanted. Charleston Mayor Joe Riley said Roof "had this crazy idea that he would divide us. All this did was make us more united and love each other even more.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. is rolling in his grave over what is happening in our nation this week. He opposed violence and made progress and change through his speeches and protests and marches. He was angry but he knew an outburst was not the answer. Malcolm X, a staunch opponent of King's methods, changed his own tune. Malcolm X turned away from the violence he previously supported and his own people murdered him for the change.
Everyone, black or white, Hispanic or Asian, everyone needs to take a look around them. This can't be what you want. This isn't the world you'd want your kids to grow up in. We all get told to "be the change you want to see in the world." When does that start? Instead of vilifying all police, look at it from their point of view and wonder what they go through. Instead of assuming the black guy with the over-sized clothes is in a gang, maybe look at the rest of the community and consider if he's just doing it to fit in. Instead of screaming "racism," maybe look at the facts first before arguing for/against a position.
Violence isn't doing anything except exacerbating the problem. It's time to accept the reality and proactively work to change it, not kill each other off. If we continue down the road we're on, America will regress back to the 50's and 60's. Too many people fought for better to be put back down that road in the same lifetime.
" If you want crappy things to stop happening to you, then stop accepting crap and demand something more." -Cristina Yang, Grey's Anatomy
