I write out this blog entry after having a moving discussion with a friend of mine. She and I often share amazing chats and today was no exception. She showed me a video AJ Plus did about “white women privilege” and it was thought provoking. We talked seriously about the message of the video and our trying to understand white women’s current motivations. She as an older white woman herself is often troubled by her peers and younger white women’s need to cling to their sense of entitlement at the expense of others. And felt the video which asks white women why are they doing this? And telling them all it is doing is making everyone hate you collectively was powerful to her. See the video:
I agree with the latter part simply because I want to ally with my sisters of all cultures, but for many of us we are so weary of white women right now. Especially in this country where they have an ingrained need to be the center of everything. When they do not get their way they weaponize their tears against us. Or in the latest crop of caught on camera phone scenarios are more than okay calling the cops on us or our children. The latter of this is what prompted me to fully write out my feelings in this blog. I have said “enough is enough!” plenty of times I have said it on Podcasts I have blogged about it. But It feels like no one is getting why this is such an emotional subject.
Calling the cops on us has had the ultimate negative consequence already...
It was a well meaning white person who called the cops on November 24th 2014. In a park in Cleveland Ohio a young black child was playing with a toy gun. The person calling the cops though he was being helpful. He had no idea that an officer (who later was found to be unfit to have been allowed to serve in the first place) would respond and instantly shoot the child in his back. He did not think that said child would be left to bleed out while his family kept away from him. He had no clue that a 12 year old child would die. But he still instead of realizing that calling the police would not be a good idea did this. I have no feeling that the caller had malice in his heart, and listening to the 911 call you can here him clearly indicate he believed the child was playing with a toy gun and was worried for his safety...sadly that man be it living in a bubble of societal privilege did not understand the danger he put Tamir’s life in until it was too late. That same danger is still present and the risk of it happening again each time one of these put out white people call the cops on our children for doing things such as mowing a lawn. Having a paper route, selling candy or water. Which all has happened within the last two weeks. Sadly the mowing of the lawn and paper route were in Ohio… I will refrain from my thoughts about that state for now.
I have nightmares that instead of a cap and gown for my son I will be buying a coffin...
What I told my friend which started a well of emotions in me to the point of tears was, what will it take for these people to stop weaponizing the police on us and our children? Tamir Rice death was not enough, and their is a part of me who believes that there is a sinister force that these people hold inside of them. That their call will result in another such death. And even when that eventuality happens will it stop them? Or embolden them to continue to call the cops on our kids for existing? My mind as a mother is plagued with all kinds of fears for my son’s future. As he turned into a teen this year instead of only being able to think about milestones such as graduating junior then high school, perhaps learning to drive and heading to college. I am worried that someone who views him as a perceived threat, or thinks he does not belong in their space will call law enforcement and he ends up dealing with someone who has trained themselves to view him as an automatic threat to be put down. I have nightmares that instead of a cap and gown for my son I will be buying a coffin.
How much blood will it take to stop this?
Do you not understand what this does to a person who already has mental worries? It is a torture that I would not wish of my worse enemies. So I ask I truly implore why do people keep doing this? Why is it necessary to call the police because black skin makes you uncomfortable? Is it gonna take more children being shot and left to bleed out before we open our eyes to how using the police as personal space enforcers is dangerous? Or will it be like the case of Tamir where even death of a twelve year old child is not enough of a deterrent?
I am just so tired of the way this society behaves...