The first woman made some comment about how black people should not be running away from the police. First off, running from the police does not justify the police shooting and killing that person. Police should shoot only when there is a clear and obvious immediate danger to the life of the police officer or some other person, other than the person being shot.
Running away from a police officer does not endanger the life of anyone other than the runner, and seldom then. Walter Scott was pulled over for a broken tail light, which honestly calls for a warning or at worst a traffic ticket. He was unarmed and ran from the officer who shot and killed him.
Stephon Clark was not even running. He was standing in the backyard of his grandparents’ home holding a cell phone. Police said they thought it was a gun, so they shot and killed him. Tamir Rice was a twelve year old plying in a park with a toy gun, when police arrived and with no warning shot and killed him.
Philando Castile was pulled over by police, not for anything he had done, but because he was black and they were looking for a black robbery suspect. He told the officer he had a concealed carry license and a gun in the car. Now seriously, you don’t tell a cop you have a gun if you’re planning on shooting him.He was reaching for his wallet when he was shot and killed. His girlfriend and her four year old daughter were also in the car when the officer shot him seven times.
John Crawford was in a store, talking on a cell phone, holding a BB gun when police shot and killed him. Eric Garner was suspected of selling individual cigarettes, when he was choked to death by police trying to arrest him. Freddie Gray was arrested for possession of an illegal knife, then died of spinal injuries that occurred when he was transported.
Arthur Green was pulled over for driving erratically, which turned out to be because he was suffering the effects of diabetes. Rather than figuring out the issue, police pulled him from his vehicle, threw him to the ground and cuffed and shackled him. He subsequently died from a diabetic seizure while in police custody.
Sandra Bland was pulled over for failure to signal a lane change. The police officer escalated the situation, eventually arresting her, claiming she tried to kick him after he dragged her from her car. She died in jail from what the police said was a suicide.
Overall in this country, there are almost five times as many white people as black people. Yet nearly as many black people are killed by police as white people when the police are NOT being attacked. Roughly the percentage of black and white kids use and sell drugs, yet the blacks are almost three times more likely to be arrested and six times more likely to be jailed for drugs.
There are clear racial disparities and they are not related to whether black people cooperate with police. Yet my female friend was quick to blame the victims of this discrimination for what happened to them, whether they were killed or merely arrested.
The other woman I argued with, took issue with the idea of white privilege. She said she never went to college, and she always had to work for a living, so she believed she was not ever the recipient of privilege by being white.
To have white privilege doesn’t mean that you were born rich, or that you never had to work for a living or struggle in your life. It just means that you have not had to face the kind of discrimination that black people in this country face every day. Some of that discrimination is documented above, but that isn’t the extent of it.
Some folks did a blind study, taking resumes, in fact the exact same resume of education and experience and submitting it for job listings. When the name on the resume was a typical white name, it got more positive responses than if it was a typical black name. Taniesha got fewer responses than Tammy, while Laquon got fewer than Larry. That indicates there is racial prejudice in employment even before the person is seen face to face.
There have been other studies using video game simulations with police officers which showed they were quicker to shoot black suspects than white ones. The fact that white people do not face the same discrimination is what is meant by white privilege, and it is all too real.
