From the post of a liberal FB friend.
Reality check.
From new friend David
"I need to drive my two-year-old to daycare tomorrow morning. To ensure we arrive alive, we won't take public transit (Oscar Grant). I removed all air fresheners from the vehicle and double-checked my registration status (Daunte Wright), and ensured my license plates were visible (Lt. Caron Nazario). I will be careful to follow all traffic rules (Philando Castille), signal every turn (Sandra Bland), keep the radio volume low (Jordan Davis), and won't stop at a fast food chain for a meal (Rayshard Brooks). I'm too afraid to pray (Rev. Clementa C. Pickney) so I just hope the car won't break down (Corey Jones).
When my wife picks him up at the end of the day, I'll remind her not to dance (Elijah McClain), stop to play in a park (Tamir Rice), patronize the local convenience store for snacks (Trayvon Martin), or walk around the neighborhood (Mike Brown). Once they are home, we won't stand in our backyard (Stephon Clark), eat ice cream on the couch (Botham Jean), or play any video games (Atatiana Jefferson).
After my wife and I tuck him into bed around 7:30pm, neither of us will leave the house to go to Walmart (John Crawford) or to the gym (Tshyrand Oates) or on a jog (Ahmaud Arbery). We won't even walk to see the birds (Christian Cooper). We'll just sit and try not to breathe (George Floyd) and not to sleep (Breonna Taylor)."
These are things white people simply do not have to think about."
-David
My response:
I don't have time to look into all of these cases, but I will say something about the most recent one.
The loss of any life is a tragedy, but this is very simplistic and perhaps misleading. Can I just look at the example of Daunte Wright? He was not shot for having an air freshener. From which part of the narrative did that information arise? I read that the air freshener story was something that Daunte told his mother in a phone call. Anyone please correct me if I am wrong.
He should never have been shot and the policewoman made an incredibly horrible mistake. Women unfortunately do not have the physical strength of men, and are more likely to compensate by using weapons. A person who does not know a gun from a taser has no business doing the job of a policewoman.
That being said, Wright was under an arrest warrant on illegal gun charges and robbing a woman at gunpoint. He was to appear in court and did not comply, which is why he was being arrested after the traffic stop. Rather than cooperate, he chose to get back in his car and attempt to drive off. There was no good outcome to his choice. At best, it would only have gotten him more prison time. It is a tragedy that the events played out as they did, but to say that he was shot for having an air freshener is just untrue. This kind of simplistic statement seems to give people who don't bother to check out the entire story tacit permission to riot and loot, causing further death and destruction of property and businesses, both black and white.
That being said, may I share an experience of my own? My parents taught me that God loves everyone the same. I am married to a person of another race.
We lived in New Haven, Conn. for a couple of years in student housing near Winchester Ave., which divided the town into its two halves. It was Halloween, and I prepared treats for the local tricksters. What made me decide to shut down shortly after was when one of the boys (taller than me) that came to my door akst me where ma husbin' was. What kind of a thing was that to be asking? I consider that a threat and decided that it was not safe for white me to be handing out candy to young black potential rapists. I was afraid to participate in Halloween for the duration of our stay in that city. When cars were stolen in our neighborhood, guess on which side of town they were always found.... I could cite other examples. They are the ones who taught me that it pays to be cautious. Does that make me racist?
