This evening, while at work, a friend texted me asking me if I was okay, and telling me about a shooting in Ferguson, MO ... a suburb of St. Louis. I quickly did a search to find out what happened, and my heart sank.This afternoon, 17 year-old Mike Brown was gunned down by police. He was unarmed. According to reports, he was shot once, surrendered with his hands up, and was shot again. Head ... chest. Afterwards, his body would lay in the streets for four more hours before being removed, two of those hours uncovered. His grandmother had seen him minutes before walking down the street toward their home as she drove by. When she arrived at home, she heard a commotion outside. When she went to see what was going on, she saw her grandson laying dead, body riddled with bullets.
Jesus help us.
Being frank, we live in a day and age where it seems the police are just as much a danger to black people as other potential criminals. It certainly doesn't seem like we receive the same amount of protection as others ethnic groups. It happens over and over, that people who's faces look like mine are in the media after being gunned down unnecessarily by the police. And then people wonder why the relationship between blacks and the police is so contentious.
If you're not black and reading this, I ask you, do you get nervous in the presence of police? If so, why?
The reason blacks are uneasy in the presence of police is because we feel like our lives are in danger. Blacks are conditioned to fear for our lives around police due to previous experience, stories, media, and upbringing. We are taught during our upbringing how to protect ourselves not only from potential assailants, but from police. "If you're pulled over, keep your hands on the steering wheel. Don't move. Don't reach for anything. Stare straight ahead." Those are things I was taught by my mother. Where is the justice in that?
At this point, what do we do? How do you fight against the people who are supposed to protect you? Where do we even begin? Once again, another of our black sons has been gunned down in the streets by law enforcement.
Weird...doesn't seem like they're enforcing law. It seems like they're merely enforcing their will.
I know this is short, but ... I'm hurting y'all. And at a loss.
God Bless.
Just finding your blog (thanks to @lannyosu) and wanted to comment on a question you ask toward the beginning of this particular post. I'm white, live in St. Louis City, and I do not, nor have I ever really felt comfortable in the presence of police.
ReplyDeleteI was taught from a young age to respect and obey those who wear uniforms and/or badges. For the early part of my adulthood I considered myself a "Young Republican" and could've easily gone down a path toward becoming an old one, but somewhere along the line my perspective shifted, for whatever reason.
I grew up in suburban St. Louis County, going to school from K-12 with a pretty evenly (in my eyes) balanced population of blacks & whites. The segregation of homes was more prominent, as many black citizens lived in what was then Meacham Park. But I rode the bus through there. I had a lot of friends who lived there.
It wasn't until just before high school, I think, that my community really seemed to emphasize the difference between blacks & whites. Unspoken prejudices, unseen lines, unwritten rules...where did those things come from? Our parents probably. I think the community I grew up in is probably more radically polarized by color now than it ever was back then. But I live in the City now, where things feel much more in tune with the natural balance, though I know unstated boundaries still exist.
I'm not sure where my unease around cops started. Maybe when we were drinking underage in high school. Maybe when we were trying to get into bars underage in college. But it wasn't ever because I was white, that much I know. It makes me sick as a human being that the kinds of atrocities and backward thinking attitudes commonplace in the early history of this country persist today.
I'm not a supporter of the violence and killing, as I'm sure you aren't either, but neither can I support a law enforcement system that allows for the misuse and abuse of its power. I cannot abide the unfettered brutality many (not all) cops seem to operate with, hiding behind the farce of justice and the law.
I'm not getting shot at by cops, and I've been lucky enough to avoid the kind of random, fatal gun violence the local news makes it's daily bread with, but yeah, I'm uncomfortable around the cops. When I see one my first reaction is to tense up, maybe even start to feel guilty, but why? I've done nothing wrong. But it's so obvious that whether you've done wrong or not isn't always important, not to those who have the power.
I may not agree with everything you say here, but I'm glad I found your blog. Thanks for sharing your words and images.