In 2018, "Living While Black" brought new attention to racial profiling

[SummerMadness]

In 2018, "Living While Black" brought new attention to racial profiling

In 2018, news headlines were dominated by stories that followed a similar pattern: a black person is minding their own business in a public space when they are approached by a white person, who questions their right to be there.

Sometimes, the white person skips the middle part and anonymously calls the police.

From using a phone in a hotel lobby, trying to cash a check at a bank, to babysitting white children, mowing lawns, selling water, eating at Subway, sleeping in a college common room, and entering their own apartment buildings, this past year has brought us countless stories of black men, women, and children who were trying to go about their daily lives only to be interrupted by a stranger challenging their presence, challenges that often culminated in interaction with the police.

Being racially profiled for “Living While Black” is not exactly a new phenomenon. But the wave of coverage these types of incidents received this year was unprecedented.

National politics — along with a rise in reported hate crimes and a resurgence of white supremacist movements — has emboldened white people frustrated by their perceived loss of power to take out their fear and anxiety on communities of color.

The ubiquity of smartphones has made it easier to record these incidents than ever before, and the resulting media coverage revealed how much black life in America remains subject to close scrutiny and suspicion.

Hopefully 2019 can be a year where the police are not treated like customer service.

 

[dgiharris]

Solution is simple, every municipality needs to pass and enforce laws/fines for nonsense police calls

you call the police in a situation that is "obviously" stupid, then you should be fined the cost of the police visit.

Also, we need to be careful not to throw all White people under the bus for the stupid actions of a few racist idiots.

We need to ensure that whatever dialogue we have in regards to race relations is dialogue that does NOT alienate Whites who are not racist (which is the majority of Whites imho).

The way we win the race war is for all of us that believe in equality and the Constitution to unite in a way that reinforces the positive messages of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesus Christ... this needs to be reflected in the tone and manner of our discourse-- always

Being Black and discriminated against is frustrating and definitely inspires feeling of helplessness and anger... but we need to be careful to make sure we do not unwillingly transfer those feelings of anger onto our allies... and our allies are all non-racist peoples...

The goal is the elimination of racism or at the very least, steps in the right direction to reduce and one day eliminate racism correct? In order to do that, we need allies, we need everyone who is not racist.

So again, going forward into 2019, lets make sure our discourse is done with the above in mind.

 

[Ana the Ist]

Solution is simple, every municipality needs to pass and enforce laws/fines for nonsense police calls.

While that sounds good on the surface, I'm not sure you want it to become a fight over whether you should have called the police....every time you call the police.

I'd rather people call the police and not need them...then need them and not call them.

 

[SummerMadness]

I think the important factor here is the role camera phones and social media have played in bringing attention to this issue. Much as police brutality came out of the shadows in the early 1990s, harassment of racial minorities by citizens calling the police is now visible. Before we could only discuss topics with whining skepticism, but now the problem is seen for all its ugliness.

I don't think highlighting these cases "throws white people under the bus" as much as it helps to silence the naysayers who come up with any and every excuse to justify the undeniably unjustifiable (although some still make pitiful attempts). When people actually listen and take heed of the issues, that is the way real reform and resolution comes about, as opposed denying the incident happen and attacking the victim. I would caution against any push to maintaining the status quo because it makes people feel uncomfortable, as people should feel uncomfortable. While I agree that no one should be blamed individually and be made to feel they are guilty by association, racial discrimination is a problem for which we all contribute as we accept it as a way of life. I think the way forward is to stop arguing every scenario of racial discrimination is based on bad individuals. Too often racist is thought of as a synonym for bad person, but I will always argue that it is system and set of behaviors that are perpetuated by bad and good people. Our goal is to help guide people to better forms of conduct, like in the story below:

Smyrna cop demoted after racial profiling incident

Smryna city manager Brian Hercules says Hicks saw Brandon walking unusually close to homes, causing suspicion. Officer Hicks stopped him for questioning, failing to turn on his microphone to record the encounter.

Peairs filed a complaint on December 14th, resulting in an immediate investigation.

"Smyrna police has one bad apple in there bunch," she said. "I think they know that."

The investigation found Officer Hicks also failed to communicate professionally with Peairs.

As a result, Hicks receives 10 days without pay, a demotion to a field training officer, as well as a requirement to undergo additional training. Pearis is upset about the incident but wants her son to be able to trust police, saying their job is to protect us.

What this police officer did was racial profiling. Is he a bad person? Maybe or maybe not. What is important is his code of conduct was racially discriminatory and I think it's good that the police chief sent him back for more training. For him personally, he may need to explore some of his own prejudices, which will likely be uncomfortable, but that's how you grow.

 

[Sparagmos]

Solution is simple, every municipality needs to pass and enforce laws/fines for nonsense police calls

you call the police in a situation that is "obviously" stupid, then you should be fined the cost of the police visit.

Also, we need to be careful not to throw all White people under the bus for the stupid actions of a few racist idiots.

We need to ensure that whatever dialogue we have in regards to race relations is dialogue that does NOT alienate Whites who are not racist (which is the majority of Whites imho).

The way we win the race war is for all of us that believe in equality and the Constitution to unite in a way that reinforces the positive messages of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesus Christ... this needs to be reflected in the tone and manner of our discourse-- always

Being Black and discriminated against is frustrating and definitely inspires feeling of helplessness and anger... but we need to be careful to make sure we do not unwillingly transfer those feelings of anger onto our allies... and our allies are all non-racist peoples...

The goal is the elimination of racism or at the very least, steps in the right direction to reduce and one day eliminate racism correct? In order to do that, we need allies, we need everyone who is not racist.

So again, going forward into 2019, lets make sure our discourse is done with the above in mind.

The problem is, most of us white people do have some vestiges of racism that are unconscious. And we tend to get very defensive and reactionary when something brings light to that. I don’t ever see real allies react with anger to conversations about racism. Allies feel great compassion towards people of color and expect people of color to be angry about racism. So there is no reactionary anger coming back from a true ally. Discomfort, yes. For a very long time, people of color just held in much of their anger about racism, and didn’t talk about itor point it out. That just kept while people blind to what they were experiencing. There is no way to talk about racism without white peoples getting angry IMO. I have participated in a number of trainings on race and inevitably there are a handful of white people who get angry and defensive. They are people who themselves are still quite racist but didn’t think of themselves that way.

 

[Ana the Ist]

The problem is, most of us white people do have some vestiges of racism that are unconscious.

If they're unconscious, how do you know about them?

And we tend to get very defensive and reactionary when something brings light to that. I don’t ever see real allies react with anger to conversations about racism. Allies feel great compassion towards people of color and expect people of color to be angry about racism. So there is no reactionary anger coming back from a true ally.

Seems pretty racist to expect black people to be angry....but please, go on about the "good whites".

Discomfort, yes. For a very long time, people of color just held in much of their anger about racism, and didn’t talk about itor point it out.

Lol when was this??? You make it sound like you have only known black people recently.

That just kept while people blind to what they were experiencing. There is no way to talk about racism without white peoples getting angry IMO. I have participated in a number of trainings on race and inevitably there are a handful of white people who get angry and defensive. They are people who themselves are still quite racist but didn’t think of themselves that way.

Quite racist....unlike those good "allies" that accept their racism that you mentioned earlier...

I'll give you this, you definitely sound like you've been trained really well.

 

[SummerMadness]

The problem is, most of us white people do have some vestiges of racism that are unconscious. And we tend to get very defensive and reactionary when something brings light to that. I don’t ever see real allies react with anger to conversations about racism. Allies feel great compassion towards people of color and expect people of color to be angry about racism. So there is no reactionary anger coming back from a true ally. Discomfort, yes. For a very long time, people of color just held in much of their anger about racism, and didn’t talk about itor point it out. That just kept while people blind to what they were experiencing. There is no way to talk about racism without white peoples getting angry IMO. I have participated in a number of trainings on race and inevitably there are a handful of white people who get angry and defensive. They are people who themselves are still quite racist but didn’t think of themselves that way.

A lot of the explicit racism of the post-Civil War through Civil Rights Movement does not exist nowadays and I suspect that is the problem with tackling some of the racism we see today. We also still have many vestiges of de jure segregation that people that has significantly affected the lives of African Americans to this day, one way is the idea that a black body should not inhabit certain neighborhoods, thus necessitating a call to the police. In the neighborhood I grew up in, just in the prior decade, my father would have had the police called on him for simply walking down the street. We're still living with some of those attitudes today whether expressed explicitly or implicitly.

 

[Sparagmos]

If they're unconscious, how do you know about them?




Seems pretty racist to expect black people to be angry....but please, go on about the "good whites".




Lol when was this??? You make it sound like you have only known black people recently.



Quite racist....unlike those good "allies" that accept their racism that you mentioned earlier...

I'll give you this, you definitely sound like you've been trained really well.

I’ve made my points here and you can take them or leave them. I know from previous experience with you I’m not going to change your thinking. If you’d like to learn more I’d suggest face to face convos with people of color.

 

[Sparagmos]

A lot of the explicit racism of the post-Civil War through Civil Rights Movement does not exist nowadays and I suspect that is the problem with tackling some of the racism we see today. We also still have many vestiges of de jure segregation that people that has significantly affected the lives of African Americans to this day, one way is the idea that a black body should not inhabit certain neighborhoods, thus necessitating a call to the police. In the neighborhood I grew up in, just in the prior decade, my father would have had the police called on him for simply walking down the street. We're still living with some of those attitudes today whether expressed explicitly or implicitly.

There are a lot of layers to be peeled back. A lot of people think that racism is relegated to saying the “n” word or some other explicit denigrating remark. But what about our behaviors and the underlying motivations? For me, I see where I have accepted the racist status quo and benefitted from it. The Trump era has made it crystal clear that we still live in a white supremecist society.

 

[Ana the Ist]

I’ve made my points here and you can take them or leave them. I know from previous experience with you I’m not going to change your thinking. If you’d like to learn more I’d suggest face to face convos with people of color.

You have any face to face convos with people of color outside of these "training white people to be careful with racial topics sessions"?

 

[Ana the Ist]

There are a lot of layers to be peeled back. A lot of people think that racism is relegated to saying the “n” word or some other explicit denigrating remark.

Those are typically the hallmarks of it.

But what about our behaviors and the underlying motivations?

You can never really know them...so you would have to make guesses. Turns out, people tend to be really bad at that.

For me, I see where I have accepted the racist status quo and benefitted from it. The Trump era has made it crystal clear that we still live in a white supremecist society.

Name one opportunity available only to whites and not blacks. I can do the opposite pretty easily....I'll never get a NAACP scholarship. Your turn.

 

[dgiharris]

While that sounds good on the surface, I'm not sure you want it to become a fight over whether you should have called the police....every time you call the police.

I'd rather people call the police and not need them...then need them and not call them.

surely we can establish a standard for frivolous calls.

I mean, if I call the police because I can't find my remote control in my living room surely that is a fine yes?

 

[John Bowen]

Everyone has to take responsibility for America and not let the elites in all races divide people over petty things such as skin color so they can control them through intolerance .Starting with the government apparatus saying black people are inferior to white people so they need special favors on jobs , loans . And the black community taking responsibility for their young people who are 5x more per population than whites to be in prison and double that of Hispanics .so thats why they get targeted cause they are the ones committing the crimes .

 

[SummerMadness]

Everyone has to take responsibility for America and not let the elites in all races divide people over petty things such as skin color so they can control them through intolerance .Starting with the government apparatus saying black people are inferior to white people so they need special favors on jobs , loans . And the black community taking responsibility for their young people who are 5x more per population than whites to be in prison and double that of Hispanics .so thats why they get targeted cause they are the ones committing the crimes .

This is just a litany of racist tropes that blames African Americans for racist actions carried out against them.

 

[DaisyDay]

Name one opportunity available only to whites and not blacks.

Mormon priest. Grand Dragon.

I can do the opposite pretty easily....I'll never get a NAACP scholarship. Your turn.

Did you even look up the criteria? Are you too old, too rich, not a student or not a member of NAACP?
The Hubertus W.V. Willems Scholarship for Male Students — POISE Foundation
The Agnes Jones Jackson Scholarship — POISE Foundation

 

[DaisyDay]

Everyone has to take responsibility for America and not let the elites in all races divide people over petty things such as skin color so they can control them through intolerance .Starting with the government apparatus saying black people are inferior to white people so they need special favors on jobs , loans . And the black community taking responsibility for their young people who are 5x more per population than whites to be in prison and double that of Hispanics .so thats why they get targeted cause they are the ones committing the crimes .

Maybe not: https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Documents/RaceReport2.7.pdf If exonerations are anything to go by, black men get wrongly convicted far more often than others.

 

[Ana the Ist]

Mormon priest. Grand Dragon.

No idea what a grand dragon is....my Google search turned up a Chinese restaurant.

I'll be honest though, I didn't know the Mormons had any racial policy in place.

Did you even look up the criteria?

No. I just remember from when I went to college...apparently, some of this has changed in the past 5 years.

Are you too old, too rich, not a student or not a member of NAACP?
The Hubertus W.V. Willems Scholarship for Male Students — POISE Foundation

Can't say I have heard of that one...is it actually associated with the NAACP?

The Agnes Jones Jackson Scholarship — POISE

Fair point....still "blacks only" in the UK...but changed in most states since I got out of school.

Would you prefer I list something else?

Edit- Looks like you're wrong about Mormons.

Black people and Mormonism - Wikipedia

 

[Ana the Ist]

Maybe not: https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Documents/RaceReport2.7.pdf If exonerations are anything to go by, black men get wrongly convicted far more often than others.

Black communities also have higher unsolved crime rates than any other racial group....by a lot. So what's your point?

 

[Sparagmos]

In 2018, "Living While Black" brought new attention to racial profiling


Hopefully 2019 can be a year where the police are not treated like customer service.

Here’s the latest, and from my city.

Portland, Oregon, hotel employees who asked black guest to leave fired - CNN

 

[iluvatar5150]

Name one opportunity available only to whites and not blacks. I can do the opposite pretty easily....I'll never get a NAACP scholarship. Your turn.

Republican presidential nominee? Governor, in many states.