I'm about to admit one of my most cringe-worthy life memories. When I was in my early 20's, I went out to dinner with some other grad students and two professors, one white and from an Eastern European country and the other black and American. The Eastern European professor asked a question about race and prejudice in America. I immediately jumped in and declared in my vast and pertinent 22-year-old white girl experience, that prejudice in the U.S. is now entirely based on socio-economic status rather than race... Oh, yes I did. The black professor very gently but firmly stated that he didn't agree and related his more relevant opinion. He was so kind about it that it took a few years for me to realize what an ass I had been.
I have four sons. If they were black my concerns and fears for them would be different and much, much scarier. There are things I don't have to worry about because my boys are white. When they learn to drive, my rules for them will be almost entirely about their physical safety while moving at high speeds. I won't have to worry about police perceptions. The stupid things my boys will inevitably do are much less likely to end in their incarceration or death because they are white. No matter what you think of the Zimmerman verdict, the fact of the matter is that if Trayvon Martin had been white, he would be alive. That situation escalated because he was black. And that, my friends, is an American tragedy.
Photo by Ralph Lee/ Dexter Rachel.
Posted with Blogsy
I had a friend killed by a rookie cop. My friend, Janke, and I went through the Green Beret qualification course together. He was a great guy and as you might imagine we were welded together in a bond, a bond that can only come about by people that have endured a great struggle together and survived. We were both assigned to 1st Special Forces Group in Ft. Lewis, WA. Janke was in A Company and I was in B Company. Janke, having been injured in an accident, was returning to base after 6 weeks convalescent leave. It was night and he had not shaved for weeks. Riding his motorcycle only a few miles from post he was pulled over for speeding. A few minutes later he was dead in the bar ditch, fatally shot in the chest. Janke was unarmed and sober the autopsy proved. The only story to be listened to was the cop's who said he was attempting to arrest him for DUI. I believe Janke was profiled, on a motorcycle, speeding,and unshaven. We, the Green Berets were enraged at such an injustice, to which nothing was done. Our battalion commander issued an edict to the Highway Patrol: "My men are travelling in pairs and are armed." We were ready to go to war. The Washington State Highway Patrol sent two officers, with their hats in their hands to talk to an enraged battalion of Green Berets. My hat is off to those two and they helped calm the situation which could have easily blown up. I have struggled personally with the Trayvon Martin case. I know that Trayvonn was not innocent, nor the innocent looking child that the media portrayed him as. However, I have a big problem with an unarmed man being shot and killed. The use of deadly force is not justified just because you are getting beat up. I was not in the bar ditch that night with my friend, nor was I in Florida when the altercation occurred between Zimmerman and Martin. I do not doubt that there was fault in both cases by both parties, but to justify the use of deadly force against an unarmed man is not justifiable. Our battalion commander failed to lead in the case with Janke. He inflamed and could have made a bad situation much worse. President Obama in doing exactly the same thing, failing to lead and inflaming the situation. - Uncle Philip
ReplyDeleteThat's heartbreaking. I'm curious, what was tone of the media coverage? Was there any?
DeleteIt was buried way back in the newspaper. Uncle Philip
DeleteI have to say that racism exists because blacks stir it up. As a 32-yr old black woman, I have seen that. I mean, where else would you have BET (black entertainment television) or Black History Month. What would happen if there was White History Month. We live in America. It's American History...black, white, hispanic, Indian.
ReplyDeleteIn my 32 almost 33 years of life, I have NEVER experienced prejudice based on my race, gender, or anything. If anything, the people I did NOT get along with the most were black school-age kids who liked to pick. If you truly evaluate the way that many (not all) blacks carry themselves and represent themselves you could see why stereotypes exist. I am married to a white man and we have two small boys. We do not teach them to see skin color. Yes, they recognize a difference but they don't favor one over the other based on the color of our skin. Racism is not something you are born with, it is taught. You are not teaching your boys that if they see a black man walking down the street to be careful because he's up to no good. No, you teach your boys to watch out for those who because of dress, language quality, and activity are reason to suspect as to being up to no good, whether black, white, or hispanic.
What happened to Trayvon Martin is a tragedy. George Zimmerman will remember that for the rest of his life, how he took the life of another person. But to say that it was because of race. Wrong! To continue to act out in violence of the situation. Wrong again! For President Obama to continue to be silent on the situation. Even more wrong! He has caused more racial division in his term as president.
I'm glad to hear that you haven't experienced a lot of prejudice based on your race or gender. That's encouraging. In terms of race, I'm sure there's a lot of nuance that I don't understand from the outside looking in.
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