It seems weekly (sometimes even more frequently) Black people are inundated with news regarding another police shooting of a Black male. Each case has distinctly different facts and circumstances, yet the feelings that resonate after each incident are ones of despair and even exhaustion at the emotional draining of seeing these males persecuted, hunted, oppressed and treated unfairly with little hopes of achieving justice from the police actions.
As we are processing the facts and tragedy of one case, we are then hit with the news of yet another questionable police shooting. The facts of each case vary, but one constant is a Black male and police officers using excessive force.The emotions of the most recent shooting death of the man in Tulsa, were followed a few days later by news of another shooting in Charlotte.
Black Lives Matter as a movement has roots in trying to address this series of shooting, that while far from new, have grabbed our attention collectively from the injustice of seeing an unarmed Black teen killed by an overzealous white male for no other reason than he wore a hoodie and appeared suspicious.
The movement has been questioned, vilified, and attempts made to simply diminish its importance. Of course all lives matter, but there are a significant high and disproportionate number of police shooting of Black males by the police that need to be addressed and stopped and that is why BLACK LIVES MATTER.
Do not let the emotions of the situation distract from the issues and goals moving forward, which are to effectuate change. Black people are tired and angry. Many may even be mad at the police, based on the emotions that too often come from the frustration of lack of accountability of law enforcement for the actions of their own. Do not let others confuse this anger as saying that Black people, as a whole, are anti-police. Anti-police brutality is in no way the same as being against the institution as a whole.
Law enforcement does a difficult job, one in which most of us respect. They put their lives on the line and are there to protect and serve the community. We understand the necessity of their jobs. However, if an officer is grossly and/or criminally negligent in doing his or her job, that person does not get a pass for their offense because they have a tough job. The politicians and police unions have negated their credibility by engaging in victim blaming and blind defense of every officer in every questionable situation. Facts, have to be gathered, but it is clear from the information that they release, even when video evidence often seems clear cut, to divert responsibility, and that tactic of deny and deflect is problematic especially in maintaining any credibility within the African American community.
Emotions aside, I can rationally accept that every police shooting of a Black male in this country, while unfortunate, is not legally unjustified. The problem is that we tend to group all the shootings into the same category, because the police have set a tone in so vehemently defending all of their officers’ shootings, even in circumstances that clearly show fault and even criminality by the police. Why should we make the distinctions, when there is no justice and distinctions made for the actions that were clearly unjustifiable.
This narrative has to change. We are exhausted, emotionally, at hearing the news and feeling the need to explain to others our fights for justice and equality. It is easy and important to point out the hypocrisy of those who speak out so emotionally on the forms of protest shown by athletes such as Colin Kaepernick and their protestation of injustices by not standing for the national anthem. Yet those same voices who have issue with the stand are almost always deafly silent when issues of social injustice, such as the police shootings, come to light.
We have to remain vigilant to, not just the emotion of the situation, but to the need to direct actual change. Police shootings of citizens, will never stop. However what can change is the idea that the police are somehow shooting our Black men without sufficient justification (i.e. the officers life was actually in danger). We need to make sure that these officers are getting better training on two fronts; tactical and empathy/sensitivity.
Tactical training covers a lot, but an example is how the officers are engaging citizens who may not be simply listening to their commands, but aren’t displaying a threat. It could cover how officers deal with people who may be on drugs or displaying a mental illness. The list of scenarios are large, but the fact remains that officers need much more detailed and intensive training to deal with the multitude of scenarios that they are likely to face on the job. One more I will mention is officers have to be trained on what to do simply because they may be become aware a person has a gun. Many states allow its citizens to legally carry firearms. The likelihood that an officer is going to encounter a citizen that may have a gun on their person or in their vehicle is high. So, the word or notice of a “gun” can not by itself be used as justification for an officer’s immediate fear if we know that society has allowed citizens the right to own and carry such weapons.
Empathy/sensitivity training is equally as important. Too many officers equate big and Black as “he looks like a bad dude”. I am not that tall but at nearly 200lbs, shaved head and a “resting mean mug face” I still fit into the description of nearly every stereotype well before I can verbally defuse any officer’s potential fear. We have to change that fear and perception. We have to help officer’s Black and White to look beyond a siege mentality of “them versus us”. In order to truly protect and serve a community, you have to have respect for those you protect and serve.
This change will not come overnight. This is all the more reason I implore us all…no matter how exhausted and even disheartened we are by the news of yet another Black male struck down by the police, don’t become desensitized to it…stay vigilant in demanding not only justice but for change. Our collective voices will be heard if we stay the course.
#Blacklivesmatter #kaepernick #policeshootings #justice #justiceforall colinkaepernick #socialchange
